Full Circle
by a0ria
Summary: When Dom and Mia's cousin, Lara, returns to L.A. after five years, how will Leon react? Most of the main characters. Dotty, Via, with emphasis on Leon x OC. Slightly AU futurefic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The Fast and The Furious was not my idea and the characters don't belong to me. **

_AN: This is my first TF&TF fic and I'm just gonna write and see where it goes. Also, it might end up becoming pretty cheesy, so here's advanced warning. Hope ya like!_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Hello??... Yeah, um, Janice, I'm kind of busy right--Oh..." Lara Baughman's face paled, her hand's motion stilling as she listened to the woman screaming on the other end of the line. "I'm so, SO sorry... No, don't do that! I'll have someone come and get him as soon as possible. I promise."

"Nina!"

"I'm so, SO sorry again, Janice-- Yes, any minute now. Yep, thanks, buh-bye."

Lara hastily ended the call just as her boss stormed into the small LA bakeshop kitchen. Her chest heaving and fists clenching and unclenching angrily at her sides, Lucy looked around the small room. Baking sheets filled with ready-to-be-baked pastries sat on every countertop and stray piles of flour and spices littered every available surface. "Nina?"

Quickly getting back to stirring the batter, Lara turned to face her boss, her large, dove grey eyes sparkling innocently, an angelic smile curving her full lips, "Hi Lucy! How's it going?"

The older woman scowled, her dark eyes, usually so warm and friendly, looked ready to kill. Huffing exasperatedly, so that a piece of her dyed platinum blonde hair flew away from her face, Lucy marched her large frame over to Lara, peered into the bowl of batter and shook her head, "No-go on the Pecan Butter Cream--something or other about her hubby-to-be's potential allergy problems..."

Lara rolled her eyes. "Should I still bake it? Or just toss it?"

Lucy sighed, some of the anger fading away as she sympathetically thwacked Lara on the back a couple of times. She'd always had strong hands, very strong hands... "Bake it. And get started on the new one. Wedding's gonna be here before we know it!" she called out as she walked away.

"Yeah, let's just hope she doesn't change her mind again," Lara snorted, reaching for a baking dish before remembering: "Wait, what kind of cake does she want?!" she shouted, but her boss had already disappeared out through the kitchen door. Lara got up quickly, intending to follow her, just as her cell phone rang again. "Oh shoot... Hello?"

---

"Hey man! I was driving by the house a little while ago and saw PeeWee tearing up Mrs. Elvestead's lawn again. Man, Lala, it was the greatest thing ever--You should've seen her!" Caryn Thompson cackled delightedly as she sped along the highway; the warm, summer breeze whipping her long, honey-blonde hair all about her shoulders. "I thought she was gonna blow a gasket," she gushed, pushing her sunglasses higher up her nose. "Remember how she almost killed us that time she caught us throwing up in her petunias on the way home from Billy Townshend's party in 10th grade? Oh my god, almost as--"

---

"Carrie!" Lara shouted, interrupting her friend mid-sentence. "Sorry to cut you off, babe, but is Pierre with you? He is? Oh, thank god...ok, I gotta let you go 'cause the bridezilla doesn't want Pecan with Butter Cream Frosting either. So far we've gone through Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Pudding Cake, Triple Chocolate Fudge Delight, Raspberry Walnut, and Mocha Cream... I swear, this wedding's gonna kill me. Shit..." Pausing a moment to gather her wits, Lara sighed, tucking a stray strand of sable hair behind her ear before continuing: "Anyways, sorry for yacking your ear off-- Yeah...ok, thanks a lot, babe. Talk to you later. Byee." _Ok, good, my little pudding cup's safe. Now, I just gotta find out what kinda cake that woman wants...again..._

Heading out into the store-part of the bakery, Lara looked around, noticing a young couple enjoying a plate of cannolis at a little table in the corner. They looked so happy, just savouring the food and enjoying a quiet moment together...

A flash of movement caught her eye and she looked up quickly. _Was that-- Jesse?_ Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lara glanced back again too reassure herself that she was just seeing things. _Had to be. Why would Jess be here? Well, of course he could be anywhere, but of all the places..._ Spotting Lucy sitting in her office, going over the books, a cup of coffee in one hand and a pencil in the other, Lara hoped she was in a better mood, but the look on Lucy's face said she was shit outta luck. "Luce, I forgot to ask you--" Lara started, making her way towards her boss, but slowed her step when she felt someone touch her arm.

"Uh...miss?"

Lara turned at the touch, expecting yet another psycho customer from hell. "How can I--?" Lara paused mid-sentence, feeling her heart skip a beat at the sight before her. "Le?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Mi, that's too tight--it's pushing my boobs out the sides!"

"Alright, hold on, Let." Mia stuck the end of the bobby pin between her lips, pushing Letty's dark, wavy locks over one golden brown shoulder, so she could adjust the straps and ties at the back of her dress.

The two women had been holed up in Mia's room all afternoon, adjusting their dresses and pouring over bridal magazines--more so Mia than Letty--looking for fashion and beauty tips.

Letty's gaze drifted out the window, watching the boys play basketball on the driveway as she waited for Mia to loosen her dress enough to allow her to take a much-needed breather before she passed out.

Ava was sitting on the grass, watching Vince and Dom go head-to-head in a fierce battle, both desperate to emerge the victor and pass off dish duty to the other, in hopes of gaining immunity for the night. Hmmm...They'd watched one too many seasons of _Survivor_.

Letty smiled and took a deep breath of fresh air as the pain in her chest subsided. "That's loose enough. Thanks, Mi."

Grabbing a hold of Letty's shoulders, Mia steered her away from the window and towards the full-length mirror in the corner so she could see herself.

Taking in the reflection of the girl staring back at her, Letty winked at herself, "I like, I like..."

"Oh my goooood, I can't believe this is actually happening!" Mia screeched happily, throwing her arms around Letty and squeezing the air out of her all over again. "I've waited for this day for like, well forever! I'm so happy right now, Let; I can't even describe!"

Letty tapped Mia's arm to get her to loosen her hold before turning to face her oldest friend, smiling so wide she felt like her cheeks might burst. "I know, girl, me too. But let's get outta these get-ups before the guys come in and think we turned all wussy on them... Oh wait--just me, I guess. That ain't nothing new for you, Mi--" Letty joked, laughing wickedly as she ducked the playful punch Mia threw her way.

"Shut up, Let!"

Still chuckling to herself, Letty slithered out of her dress and pulled on a pair of ripped and faded low-rise jeans and a white beater, slipping her feet into her discarded flip-flops, as she heard the back door squeak open and bang closed.

"Mia?!"

Walking out into the hallway, Letty peered over the banister and into the kitchen, "Wassup, Dom?"

Mia appeared beside her a second later, smoothing the fabric of her supergirl baby-tee over her swollen belly, a knowing smirk on her face: "Dinner's not ready yet!"

They heard a loud groan from the kitchen and laughed evilly and then burst out in laughter at the hilarity of it all as they made their way downstairs to help get dinner started.

"Did you beat V?" Letty asked Dom, nonchalantly entering the kitchen and walking over to her man, pressing a kiss to his cheek in greeting before continuing on to the fridge and pulling out some odds and ends.

In answer, Dom laughed that deep, booming laugh of his, as though her question was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. Just as he was reaching for a can of tomato sauce from the cupboard, the back door creaked open and Ava marched purposefully into the kitchen, followed closely by Vince who quickly scooped her little body up into his arms and deposited her gently on the counter top.

Dom, Letty, and Mia all watched, amused, as Vince leaned in close to the little girl and gave her a winning smile, "Hey pipsqueak, you wanna help Uncle Vince wash the dishes after dinner?"

Swinging her chubby little legs back and forth as she tugged on one of her dark, curly pigtails, Ava seemed to give the question some serious thought before shaking her head, causing Mia and Letty to errupt into another fit of giggles.

Vince snorted, throwing a glance at Dom over his shoulder: "She gets that from you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Leon stood stalk-still in shock, just staring at the girl in front of him. _Only me_... he thought. After a long few minutes of silence, he became aware of the way his mouth was gaping open and promptly closed it as he tried to get his heart-rate under control again. _Say something to her, retard!_

"Lara--wow. I uh...I didn't know you were back..." he stammered, allowing his eyes to trace over the painfully familiar features of the girl in front of him. Same strangely beautiful grey eyes...same pouty lips and lightly tan skin. But gone was the rockerish chick he'd known and loved...at least on the outside. She'd taken out many of her piercings, and instead of the shorter, angular cut she'd sported while they were together, her dark hair, though tied up, now fell in long waves down the length of her back. "You look good.." he murmured, letting his gaze trail down the rest of her body.

"You look good, too." Lara breathed, looking her fill of the man she hadn't seen in over five years. He was still tall and handsome as ever, with his slicked back hair and that silver chain hanging around his neck...and those green eyes she'd fallen asleep dreaming about so often. Lara sighed longingly, suddenly remembering how much she'd loved him..._still_ loved him, if she was honest with herself. "Le--"

"Nina, did you get started on the new cake for the bridezilla yet?" Lucy asked, marching over to the two of them. "Sorry to interrupt," she muttered belatedly, pasting a pleasant smile on her face as she spared a glance in Leon's direction.

Lara saw Leon shift his attention back to her, an eyebrow raised in question. She could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. _Nina? Nina, who? Who's Nina?_

"Well? Did you start making the cake, yet?" Lucy repeated, oblivious to what she'd interrupted.

"Uhh...no, not yet—"Lara stated, feeling her cheeks flush at being caught staring at Leon, "—You didn't tell me what kind she wanted instead of the Pecan Butter Cream.."

"Oh. Right. Well, make it a square, red velvet, four-tier with fudge icing. And she wants the top tier to be a smaller, round, triple chocolate mousse.."

"Okay, I can do that," Lara replied, pulling a small notepad and pen out of her apron and crossing something out before scribbling down the new information. "Do you think she'll change her mind again?"

Lucy huffed, the platinum blonde bangs she'd carefully pinned back flying loose as she vigourously shook her head, "No!" she stated firmly, "If that crazy woman changes her mind one more time, I am cutting her loose! It's like she thinks the whole world revolves around her...she doesn't realize that we have other customers to serve, other cakes and pastries and delicious deserts to make..." Lucy muttered angrily to herself, clearly not all there at the moment.

"Uh huh...okay. Um, Luce? I'm gonna take my lunch now, okay?" Lara asked, watching as Lucy turned away from them without so much as a second glance.

Lucy waved her away, not even turning to look at her. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead," she muttered absentmindedly, already walking back into her office.

"Why'd she call you Nina?" Leon asked, voicing Lara's earlier thoughts. Lara bit her lip nervously at the question and pretended to ignore Leon for the moment.

"So you're sure about the cake, right?!" Lara called, hoping to tease her boss back into a good mood.

Turning slowly in the doorway of her office, Lucy glowered at Lara, "Oh, I'm sure," she whispered menacingly, "And bridezilla's one-hundred percent decided! This will be the final cake, if she knows what's good for her. Let's see her make one more change--oh, I dare her!" Lucy snarled and then promptly slammed the door shut.

Lara stood gobsmacked, man was she ever pissed. You'd think she was the one who'd been baking a gazillion different cakes a day.

Leon whistled, drawing Lara's attention back to him. "Wow...your boss's a pretty angry broad."

Laughing lightly, Lara nodded, shrugging her shoulders, "Yeah, well. Aren't all bosses generally psychotic?" For a moment, Lara forgot that they hadn't seen each other in five years and that they were standing in the middle of a bakery in downtown L.A. It felt so right, just being with him, she thought to herself, losing herself in memories...

---_  
Letty, Mia, and Lara ran up the steps to the Toretto house, giggling together as Mia yapped excitedly about how Stan Sanderson had looked at her before hitting a homerun._

_The girls had stayed after school that day to watch the baseball game going on, so they wouldn't have to put up with anymore whining from Mia, who couldn't seem to think of anything but Stan and his cute butt._

_"All the girls in school like him, but he looked at **me**!" Mia gushed, her dark eyes all starry and far-off looking._

_"Yeah, just looking at you made him hit that homerun, huh?" Lara teased, laughing along with Letty as Mia smacked her arm._

_"Shut up! It probably **was** me!" Mia defended herself, pushing the front door open and leading the way inside her house and up the stairs to her room. "Just 'cause you're a year older than me doesn't mean you know **everything** about boys, Lala," Mia muttered, walking up the stairs backwards._

_Letty snickered, "Age ain't got nothin' to do with it and you know it, Mi. Hell, I'm a year younger and even I could tell--Oh. Hey Dom.."_

_Starting up the stairs behind Mia, Lara turned to see her cousin, Dominic, sitting in the living room next to some guy she'd never seen before. His green eyes caught hers for a moment and the two stared at each other until Letty nudged Lara from behind, "Come on man, you're holding up traffic here." _  
---

"So, _Nina_, huh?" Leon asked skeptically, glancing down at Lara's nametag. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lara raised an eyebrow and poked Leon in the side _hard_, making him yelp, as she grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the door. "Come on..."

Once they were outside she looked into his beautiful green eyes again and tried not to let thoughts of the past cloud her senses. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing, doncha think?" Leon retorted, chewing on the toothpick between his lips.

Crossing her arms over her chest and adopting a no-nonsense tone, Lara decided blunt was best: "No. What are you doing _here_? Who told you?"

"Who told me what?" Leon asked, confused. "What the hell's goin' on here, Lara? Why'd your boss call you Nina? And when did you come back? And who the hell wasn't supposed to tell me what?"

Suddenly exhausted, Lara sighed, flopping down into one of the wicker chairs outside the bakery. "Sit."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Vince was sitting out on the back porch steps after dinner that day, tipping back a bottle of Corona and enjoying the cool breeze accompanying the fading afternoon light. He sat in silence, just watching Letty and Ava play together in the sandbox Dom had built for his little girl last summer. He wondered if he'd be as good a father as Dom was...if he'd just _know_ how to handle his kid's tantrums and just be there for him or her in a way his own father never had been for him.

Sauntering into the kitchen and yawning widely after her short nap, Mia leaned over the sink, cradling her large belly with one hand as she peeked into the sink to make sure the dinner dishes had been washed. She smiled with the satisfaction of a neat-freak.

Catching a glimpse of the back of Vince's head through the open kitchen window, Mia waddled slightly towards the door, poking her head outside to see her husband sitting on the steps by himself. Noticing the empty beer bottles littering the ground at his feet, she watched, silent for a moment, as he finished off his Corona, placing it carefully on the floor next to the others, before sighing deeply and laying his head in his hands.

"V?"

Vince's head snapped up and he turned slightly to look at Mia over his shoulder, "Yeah?"

Walking out onto the porch, Mia pushed a couple bottles aside with her foot before slowly lowering herself down onto the stoop beside him. "You seem kinda lonely. You ok?"

Vince watched his wife out of the corner of his eye as she stretched her long, tan legs out in front of her and wiggled her toes a little in her pink flip-flops. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips and he shrugged, nudging her slight frame with his shoulder. " 'm fine. Just thinkin'...'bout the baby...and the new house..." he murmured thoughtfully, picking up one of the empty beer bottles and picking at the label.

Mia nodded, resting her head against Vince's shoulder and smiling when he reached out to rub his hand tenderly over their baby. "Me too," she replied, her smile widening. "And I'm excited--for the baby and our very own house. I'll miss Dom and Let and Avie, though..." Mia whispered sadly, turning her gaze towards the happy family.

Dom was kneeling on the grass just outside of the sandbox, watching his fianceé and their daughter build a sand replica of "Daddy's RX7". For the most part, he tried to just sit back and watch, but every once and a while he'd lean over and take Ava's pudgy little fingers in his larger hands and help her adjust something on her sandy creation, causing Letty to roll her eyes and laugh.

Seeing this, Vince couldn't help but chuckle, grinning when Letty glanced over at the two of them, pointing one finger at Dom and the other at her temple, swirling it around as she rolled her eyes then laughed when Dom looked up and caught her mocking him in his perfection.

"Hey! Watch where you point that finger, mami," he growled playfully, causing Ava to giggle while glancing back and forth between her parents to see their reactions.

Mia sighed happily at the scene before a thought came to her, making her pause as she struggled to push herself to her feet, "Hey hun, where're Leon and Jess?"

---

"Sit."

Leon eyed Lara suspiciously for a moment, before complying and lowering himself into one of the dainty, little wicker chairs across from her. Folding his hands together on the table between them, Leon waited patiently for Lara to begin.

A few moments of silence passed. The busy hustle and bustle of the LA streets more than made up for the silence, but did nothing to help erase the awkward tension between the two of them.

"Well?" Leon asked, his leg bouncing up and down beneath the table as his fingers fiddled together on top. Looking over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Jesse waiting anxiously and smoking a cigarette next to the Skyline. Leon shook his head slightly, telling him to give him a minute or three. He needed to clear some things up before they got going or he knew he wouldn't be sleeping that night.

Always perceptive where Leon was concerned, Lara noticed his inattention and glanced behind her, spotting Jesse a few metres down the sidewalk. "Oh my god--Jess! Hey!" Lara grinned--not only happy to see her old friend, but also in relief, glad to have a momentary distraction from the wounded, prideful look in Leon's eyes. Although, she knew she wouldn't get out of explaining herself and her sudden presence in LA, though.

She stood up, a huge smile on her face as Jesse ambled over to them, a bright pink blush staining his cheeks as he allowed her to envelope him in a hug. "Hey. Wh-what's up, Lara?" Jesse asked with a small nervous grin on his face as he glanced over at Leon who looked slightly annoyed.

"I'm doin' good, Jess. And you look good. You doin' okay?" Lara asked worriedly, holding him at arm's length.

Rubbing his chest with one hand and running his fingers over his beanie with the other, Jesse grinned lopsidedly, "Yeah, I'm doin' good, ya know... Doctors fixed me up real good." Glancing over at Leon again, he noticed the sombre air about his face and decided to change the subject. Anytime anyone brought up what had happened with Tran so many years ago, Leon always got that same sad and guilt-ridden far-off look in his eyes. "But um..I didn't mean ta in'errupt. I noticed you guys were talkin' before and stuff."

That seemed to snap Leon out of his daze and he stood up from his chair too. "Yeah, she was just about to explain a coulpla things, weren't ya, girl?" Leon drawled, leaning back against the table and crossing his arms over his chest.

Lara glared at him haughtily as if trying to burn a hole straight through his face for making her talk about stuff she'd really rather not talk about.

"How long've you been back, Lara?" Leon asked, feeling exhausted all of a sudden, as he dropped his arms to his sides.

"A few months…" Lara whispered guiltily, trying to look Leon in the eyes, though it was becoming increasingly difficult.

"A few months?" he echoed, incredulously. "And what? You weren't even gonna call your family? I'm sure Dom and Mia have missed you like hell, girl."

Lara hung her head and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah…about that…"

Leon looked stunned. "What? They knew??" he was almost shouting, but he didn't care. His friends, his _family_, hadn't even bothered to mention that the girl he'd been so madly in love with, the only girl he'd ever been in love with, who'd broken his heart and left him...had come back, and no one had told him.

"Leon, calm down. It wasn't their fault. I made them promise not to tell you!"

"Why? Why couldn't they tell me? Why couldn't _you_ tell me?" he asked, his green eyes looking so pained that Lara had to look away from him, couldn't _stand_ knowing how much she'd hurt him by leaving, by staying away.

When she didn't saying anything, Leon pushed himself off the table and shook his head angrily. "Fine. I'm gone. Come on, Jess," he muttered, walking over to his car with Jesse following behind him, then getting in, and speeding off down the street.

Lara sighed, slumping back into her chair. "Well, that went well..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

When Leon and Jesse pulled up outside the Toretto house fifteen minutes later, Leon was about ready to blow a gasket and plow right into everyone for not telling him about Lara. He could feel the beginnings of a headache making his forehead throb with pain and his hands balling into fists at his sides as he stomped up to the front door. Just as he was about to throw it open, something stopped him in his tracks, causing Jesse to bump into him from behind with an audible _oof_.

_Hold up, tough guy_,his brain started,_ Now, Mia and everyone knew about Lara being back. And have probably known for a long time already. And then...Mia sent you and Jess over there to order the cake for the weddin'...when she just as easily coulda ordered it over the phone instead... _These thoughts gave Leon pause as he stood there pensively, a derisive smile curving the corners of his lips. _Why that meddling, clever-minded little hooch..._ Flinging the front door open, Leon stepped inside, ready to give Mia a piece of his mind when he became aware of all the commotion.

Letty was standing at the top of the stairs, hands on her hips as she screamed angry epithets down at Dom, who was at the bottom of the stairs, leaning up against the bannister and looking quite bewildered and very clearly confused.

"What's going on?" Jesse whispered, as he and Leon slowly--so as not to attract the attention of the angry pair--made their way over to Mia who was standing by herself, arms crossed over her belly, and watching the fray from the relative safety of the kitchen doorway.

Blowing her bangs away from her face, Mia rolled her eyes, a tiny smirk playing over her lips as she glanced over at the two of them quickly before returning her attention back to the spectacle, "Well, as you can see: Let's pissed at Dom for some reason, but your guess as to why is as good as mine... Gum?"

"I shouldn't _have_ to tell you why I'm pissed, Dominic!" Letty shouted down the stairs. "Maybe if you weren't such a fuckin' _pendejo_ all the time and paid attention to me every once in a while, you'd know!"

Taking the proffered stick of juicy fruit, Leon leaned in the doorway, momentarily forgetting his anger, "Where's V?"

"Letty, come on!" Dom pleaded. The big, tall, and strong bald man had never been known to whine, except where Letty was concerned, and he was sure as shit guilty of it at the moment. The trio huddled in the kitchen doorway giggled. Poor Dom. Always getting in trouble with the "wife".

"Vince took Avie out for an ice cream cone," Mia responded, tugging her t-shirt down to cover her exposed belly.

"Why didn't you go, too?" Jesse asked knowingly. Everyone knew all about Mia's, or ahem _the baby's_, cravings. "He bringing you back something?"

"If he knows what's good for him," Mia murmured, not taking her eyes off of the feuding couple.

The sound of a door slamming upstairs followed by the heavy thumping of Dominic's large, lumbering form ascending the stairs after his runaway fiancée signaled the end of the free show.

"So, did you guys place the order for the cake?" Mia asked, turning to face Leon and Jesse, though rather curiously, her eyes lingered on Leon as she asked the question.

Jesse walked into the kitchen, having already heard an earful of Leon's bitching, when he hadn't even known about Lara being back himself.

Slinging an arm around Mia's shoulders, Leon guided her towards the sofa and sat her down upon it, though he remained standing.

Squishing around to make herself more comfortable, Mia looked up at Leon, noticing, for the first time that night, the angry fire blazing in his usually placid green eyes. "Um...you didn't get the cake? Were they closed?" she asked innocently, her wide, dark eyes peering into his questioningly.

Pacing a few feet and wringing his hands in front of him, Leon chuckled mirthlessly, "Um. No. They weren't closed Mia. Which I think you were more than aware of when you sent me."

Leon glanced over at his friend, watching as her mouth formed an 'o' of surprise, "What? What do I have to do with anything? I just asked you to get the cake is all..."

"You knew Lara worked there, Mia!" Leon shouted, unable to contain his anger any longer. "You all knew that she was back and none of you even bothered to tell me. You saw how miserable I was when she left and then you just decide to play matchmaker and send me over there without even a warning or nothing. Holy shit...I couldn't believe my eyes when she turned around and looked at me.." Leon paused in his tirade, inhaling sharply as his mind conjured up images Lara and all of the bulshit of the past hour.

"Le--"

"How could you do that to me?"

Mia bit her lip and struggled to push herself forward so she could grab Leon's hand and pull him down beside her onto the couch. She hated seeing that betrayed, sorrowful look in his eyes and hugged him tightly to her. "I'm really sorry. You know you're one of my best friends in the whole world and I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Yeah, so what? You just throw me out there 'cause you figure it's better for me or somethin'?"

"No! It wasn't like that. I've been trying to get her to come and see you--"

"Whaaat the fuck?" Leon exploded. "Don't do me any favours, Mi. If she don't wanna come see me, then fuck it!"

Mia sighed, "I didn't mean it like that. Of course she wants to see you, it's just that she, uh, can't...exactly...right now. I was just sayin' ya know, like it would be great if you two got back together. God knows that little hooch Tori's been hanging around _waaay _too long.."

Leon rolled his eyes at her comment. If truth be told, Tori had been a mistake from the get-go--a one-night stand he'd drunkenly taken home with him from one of Hector's parties and who hadn't taken the hint the next morning. Now almost five months later, the girl was still hanging around and no matter how many times he'd told her that he was sorry but he wasn't interested, she didn't seem to get it. The situation was bordering on stalkerish. Damn girl kept inviting herself over to his apartment and trying to abduct his dog to get him to go over to her house. If he and the team hadn't gotten on such bad terms with the cops with their street-racing and then that pig Brian showing up to bust them for the trucks, he would've called them about 4 and half months ago to try and help the girl out or something.

Christ..he'd never met someone like that broad before. He'd had plenty of one-nighters where he figured things might go somewhere, only to be let down hard and you didn't see him keeping tabs on those girls like some psycho stalker.

Leon suddenly became aware of someone poking his arm repeatedly, "Leeeon...Leeeeeeon..."

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Leon grabbed Mia's finger to put an end to the poking, "What?"

"Where'd you go just now?" Mia asked, shaking off Leon's hand to take her sundae from her husband with a grateful smile. "Thank-you, Vinnie-poo," she cooed, merrily dipping her spoon into the double chocolate fudge sundae and taking a huge, lusty bite. "Mmmm, the baby's been craving this all day."

Leon just stared, brow crinkled in confusion. He must've _really_ spaced out not to have noticed someone walking into the room...or that Vince was looking at him mock-suspiciously, "Uh, you know I love you brotha, but you wanna stop staring into my wife's eyes like that? 'Cause uh, no matter how much you bat those pretty lil' lashes o' yours, I'm the one going to bed with her tonight."

Snickering at his little joke and the weirded out look on Leon's face, Vince stroked his wife's hair lovingly, chuckling delightedly when she whacked his thigh with her spoon.

"Anyways. As I was saying," Mia continued, "Lara made us promise not to tell you, Le, and she's my cousin, so I can't lie to her. Anyone else and I would've told you, I swear. She said she'd tell you in her own time and I know how miserable you've been since she left. I mean, you just told me yourself five minutes ago!" Mia stated, trying to justify her actions. "So, I figured, if I couldn't tell you, then she would have to, 'cause I hate seeing my friends suffer, you know that."

Just then, Jesse re-entered the room carrying Ava in his arms. Purposely trying to ignore the conversation going on, he plopped himself down on the floor in front of the TV and settled Avie in his lap to watch some cartoons and help her finish off her quickly-melting ice cream.

"Um..." Mia continued, having lost her concentration, "oh yeah, so like, it could so happen that you just walk into the place where she works, right? So, I had you go and order the cake. Don't be mad. I just want to see you happy again, Le."

Shrugging his shoulders, Leon lay back into the sofa, propping his arms up behind his head and sighing deeply, "A'ight, a'ight. I believe ya, but no more bullshit, huh?"

Mia nodded and the room grew silent as they turned their attention to the TV.

"So, um, sorry guys," Mia whispered, cringing at having interrupted the peace, "... but did you order the cake or not?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank-you to all those who reviewed--I really appreciate your feedback!_

**Chapter 6**

Dominic had been sitting on the floor outside of his and Letty's bedroom for the past fifteen minutes, feeling utterly helpless as he listened to his fiancée cry alone inside their room. She'd locked the door, and while he knew he could break it down if he'd really wanted to, Dom wasn't exactly sure how much Letty would appreciate that. Let alone the fact that if he broke the door, he'd end up having to fix it later.

With a heavy sigh of defeat, Dom lay his head back against the door and waited. _She'll have to come out sooner or later_, he figured. He wondered what was bothering her. He knew he wasn't exactly perfect and acted like a dick much of the time, but when he did something wrong, he was usually aware of it...well, for the most part, anyway. But this time, he honestly had no clue what he could have done to make Letty so upset with him. She hardly ever cried, which was a fact that was making Dominic increasingly apprehensive. Something must really be wrong.

"Baby, please let me in," Dom pleaded, turning to face the door now. No answer. "Leticia..."

Deciding that he wasn't just gonna wait around like some loser, Dom pushed himself to his feet and hurried into the bathroom. There was no way he was just going to sit around and do nothing while his fiancee needed him. He'd always been a go-getter, he thought to himself as he searched through the drawer under the sink, producing a Q-tip. Walking back to his bedroom, he jammed the Q-tip into the tiny hole in the doorknob and swirled it around before finding the lock mechanism and unlocking the door.

Letty gasped, startled, when the door swung open and clutched her pillow to her body, "What are you doing in here, Dominic? The door was locked for a reason!"

Slamming the door closed behind him at Letty's indignant tone, Dom dropped the Q-tip onto the floor and stalked towards the bed, feeling jolts of red-hot anger flood through his veins. Just as he'd opened his mouth, ready to give Letty a piece of his mind for making him worry and then yelling at him, she glanced over her shoulder at him and he caught sight of her tear-streaked face and red-rimmed eyes. Dom felt all the anger drain out of him.

Sighing deeply, he sunk down onto the edge of the bed and reached out a hand to gently brush a lock of dark, silken hair away from Letty's face. "What's going on with you, huh?" he asked, moving his hand down to her back and rubbing warm, soothing circles into her skin.

When Letty remained silent, her body relaxed under his touch, Dominic moved to lay down beside her. "Baby..tell me what's wrong," he cajoled, reaching for her chin and turning her face so he could look into her eyes.

"I thought I was pregnant," Letty whispered, so softly that Dom had barely heard her.

"When? Today?" Dom asked, equally softly, so as not to startle her into stopping her explanation.

Letty shook her head, continuing, "I was late a couple weeks...I just thought. I didn't know. Then I did the test today and it was--it was negative."

Dominic sighed, pulling Letty's warm body into his arms and pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. "Oh baby, it's okay. It's nothing to be upset over. We already have the most beautiful little girl in the world and she's more than a handful sometimes," Dom joked, smiling when he heard Letty's soft sniffle, followed by a snort of laughter. "And one day we'll have another baby to add to the brood... Heck, Mia's tryin' to set Le and Lara up again, so we might as well wait for the kid to have a couple more cousins and stuff before we have him, huh?"

Letty nodded her head under his chin and wrapped her arms around his back, "I guess... Plus it would kinda suck if my dress didn't fit for the wedding. Mia's been bitchin' 'bout that for the past coupla weeks."

The sound of Dominic's deep, throaty chuckle filled the room and Letty hugged him tighter, smiling into his chest. Everything would be okay...at least for the time being.

"You sure you wanna be married to me?" Letty asked suddenly, turning her big, dark eyes up at him.

"You sure you wanna be married to _me_?" Dom countered, smoothing back a lock of Letty's long, dark hair, and tucking it behind her ear.

They smiled their answers at each other, and Dom pat Letty's rump as he untangled himself from her, sitting up and pulling her with him. "Come on hot stuff, it's getting late. Let's go put Ava to bed."

---

Lara was lying awake in bed that night and staring up at a crack in the cieling as she thought back over the day's events. That wasn't, at all, how she'd imagined her happy reunion with Leon. A little less clothes, a few more heart-felt words, maybe... _Shit, he probably has a girlfriend now, anyways_, Lara mused, finding herself feeling slightly depressed at the thought. _It figures..._ God, she'd never in a million years expected Leon to walk into the bakery like he had today. She should've though, seeing as how she had Mia for a cousin and all...

Poking one foot out of her covers to rub her toes over the snoozing bull terrier puppy at her feet, Lara smiled into the darkness, lost in memories.

She'd grown up in LA with Dom, Mia, Vince, and Letty and had actually seen Leon a couple of times before her parents' divorce that had forced she and her mother to move away to New York to live with her grandmother. It had been hard--moving to a new place and having to make new friends--but she'd done it, just as countless seventeen-year-olds before her had.

As she drifted off into a light slumber, thoughts and images of Leon invaded her mind...Leon as the young punk she'd met up with again and fallen in love with that summer following her graduation from NYU. Dom had just been released from Lompoc and had invited her to stay with them all for the summer to get caught up, and she'd gladly accepted.

She still remembered the shocked expression on his face when she'd walked into DT that day, more than five years ago...

_"Le? Le?" _

_Sliding halfway out from beneath a suped-up '86 Mustang, Leon shot an annoyed glance in Mia's direction, "What?"_

_"You remember my cousin, Lara, right?"_

_Lara blushed when she felt Leon's heated gaze shift to her and rake slowly up her body before his gaze locked with hers, "Uh ya.." he muttered, sliding all the way out from underneath the car he'd been working on and quickly getting to his feet. "Nice ta see ya again."_

_"She's gonna be staying with us for the summer. Won't that be fun?" _

_Lara smiled nervously at Mia before turning her attention back to Leon who shot her a crooked grin, "Oh ya. Lookin' forward to it, Mia."_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**-Summer 2000-**

_"Quick--turn here! No, no, go straight, go straight!"_

_Leon cursed and jerked the wheel sharply to the right, swerving his car in the opposite direction and narrowly missing a couple out for a late night stroll. _

_"Sorry!" Lara yelled, leaning out the window and offering the angry couple an apologetic wave. When the girl gave her the finger in response, Lara slumped back in her seat and promplty burst into a fit of giggles. _

_Peering at her out of the corner of his eye, Leon raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he watched her laugh herself silly, "You okay there, sweetpea?"_

_Her laughter stopped abbruptly and silence filled the car. Lara looked over at him quickly, lips tightly pursed and eyebrows raised comically as she regarded her boyfriend in silence. _

_He quickly glanced over at her, wondering what was up when he noticed those familiar grey eyes shining with barely-suppressed laughter. He couldn't help it--he snickered at the funny face she was making and suddenly the car was filled with snorts and sniggers and shrieks of laughter._

_Pulling off the road, onto a grassy knoll over-looking the beach, Leon glanced across the deserted LA street to make sure the coast was clear, before hopping out the car. Making his way to the other side of the car with a wide, goofy smirk still plastered on his face, Leon yanked the door open and leant down inside, watching Lara wiggle around inside, still beside herself with glee. "You need some help in there?" he mocked, reaching in to pull his girlfriend outside and into his arms. _

_"Ooh, Leon," Lara giggled, petting his chest and twirling her fingers in the long, silver chain hanging around his neck. "So brusque.."_

_He couldn't help it--he chuckled, hugging her warm, soft body to him for a moment, before slowly releasing her and taking her hand in his, leading the way down to the shore. _

_The ocean tides were lapping gently against the sand, bringing in the cooler evening breeze and the sounds of the rushing waves in the distance._

_"Ahh, that was fun tonight," Lara declared, swinging their intertwined hands between their bodies as they walked along the sand together, just enjoying the quiet of the night and each other's company. _

_"Yeah, Letty kicked ass. That dill was so pissed when she took those slips off him.." Leon snorted, remembering the look on Dike's face when he handed her the pink slips to his sleek and suped up '98 Eclipse. "The 'tard raced her at Racewars that one time, too. Idiot ain't never gonna--"_

_Leon gasped, startled when Lara suddenly pushed him down onto the sand, then groaned, half in pain; half in pleasure, when she flopped down on top of him._

_"Uh--" Leon coughed as he felt laughter bubble up within his stomach. _God, with this girl he was always laughing, _he thought, smiling up into her face and enjoying the way her body moulded to his as her choppy dark hair formed a halo around her head. "What're you drunk tonight, girl?" he asked, a grin tugging at his lips as he felt her hands reach down to pull his shirt up and off his body. _

_"No," she giggled, cupping his face between her hands and pressing a gentle, loving kiss against his lips. Smoothing her hands down over his chest and the muscles in his abdomen, she sat up on his thighs, massaging them slowly before moving upwards to work on unbuttoning his jeans._

_Leon's breath hitched in his chest as Lara unzipped his pants, starting to tug them down. Things had been going great and they were damn hot for each other, but they'd never actually gone beyond a little heavy petting and some seriously heated make-out sessions. _

_They'd been together for a couple of months, now; had, in fact, been an item since the...third? time he'd appraoched her. He smiled, remembering how they'd just seemed to click that first time they'd met up again. Then, he grimmaced, recalling how she'd all but threatened to bust his balls the next time he'd tried hitting on her after she'd just seen some skanky racer-chaser draped all over him. But things had a way of working themselves out and they'd been practically inseprable ever since. _

_Leon sighed, gently grabbing Lara's hands in his and stilling their motion as they fiddled at the waistband of his boxers. "I love you," he murmured, looking up into her eyes and watching as she stiffened above him suddenly and the way her eyebrows knit together worriedly._

_"How do you know?" she whispered, staring down into his beautiful green eyes and watching how the silver light of the moon made them shine._

_Leon closed his eyes for a moment, feeling slightly unsure about how to explain they way he was feeling inside. But when he opened his eyes again and saw those shimmering bluish-grey eyes staring deeply into his own, he felt his heart start to thump hard in his chest and he smiled crookedly up at her, "The first time I met you, you looked just like any other hot chick I'd ever met before. I wanted to get to know you, wanted to uh...well, ya know," Leon trailed off, and blushed slightly seeing the teasing smile playing upon Lara's lips. "Um..but the first time I really realized you were somethin' special was when you tried to kick my ass when I went up to you at the party the night Vince won that right, 'member? All the other girls--they could get jealous and stuff, ya know? But that'd justa made them work harder. I think that was prolly the first time I realized that a girl liked me for me, not 'cause I was a racer or friends with Dom and parta the Team. I know that must sound really corny.."_

_Lara bit her lip and shook her head as she stroked her thumbs over Leon's. "A little," she murmured, her eyes shining with amusement. _

_"Well, it's true, either way," Leon continued, releasing her fingers and sighing contentedly as they traced patterns over the skin above his heart before caressing the skin at his nape and winding up into the light brown curls there. "I love every second we spend together. I love everything about you. You're so beautiful and strong, smart and sexy as hell... and you don't even gotta try--you just are--I love that about you. How you go for what you want and how you always tell me I can do anything. I love the way you make me feel, baby."_

_Lara felt her eyes begin to water and leaned her face into Leon's warm palm as he reached up to cup her cheek._

_"I know we've only known each other for a coupla months, but I know how I feel, girl. Even when we're yelling at each other, sometimes over the stupidest little things, or when you call me up at 3a.m. "just to talk"_

_A hint of laughter bubbled up between her lips at that as Lara blinked rapidly to avoid the tears she knew were coming. _

_"...even then, when I'm like dead to the world, I smile as soon as I see your name on my caller i.d." _

_Leaning down so that their foreheads were touching, Lara brushed a tender kiss across Leon's lips and whispered, "I love you, too."_

---

Leon groaned, shifting in bed as he awoke from a deep slumber.

Glancing blearily at his alarm clock and seeing that it was only 3a.m., he turned onto his side and closed his eyes, intending to go right back to sleep. A couple of minutes passed as he waited for sleep to take him.

Turning onto his back, he stared up at the cieling as snippets of his dream filtered into his consciousness. He'd been dreaming about Lara again...about their night on the beach, what seemed a lifetime ago.

He'd been distracted at work all week and'd had to really force himself to concentrate in order to get anything done. The guys had all noticed, but no one had said anything to him about it.

With a weary sigh, and feeling supremely irritated at not being able to return to sleep, Leon sat up suddenly and swung his legs over the side of his bed.

Making a pit-stop at the bathroom before wandering into the kitchen for something to eat, he then headed for the couch, his now-awake chocolate labradour trotting along beside him.

Plopping down in front of the TV with a bowl of coco puffs in hand, Leon flicked on the tube, turning the volume down as he heard Jesse's slumbering snorts echo through the apartment.

And there he sat, well into the early morning; watching re-runs of _Alf_, with Chachi curled up beside him, as slivers of early morning sunlight peeked in through the slits in the blinds, painting the apartment in bright orangey-yellow hues.

He flicked the channel. "Good morning, Los Angeles! Today is going to be another beautiful day..."

Leon clicked the TV off and sat up straight, yawning tiredly into his hand as he set his bowl down on the coffee table in front of him. He stretched languidly as he pushed himself up and off the couch and went to wake Jesse for work, muttering to himself as another yawn escaped him, "Yep, I feel beautiful, LA..."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Monday morning found Leon hard at work inside the garage. He'd arrived at DT just as the sun was rising up and over the Hollywood Hills, bathing the city of LA in early morning sunshine and hinting at the hot and sticky, _sweltering_ day to come.

A week had passed since that "chance" encounter at the bakery where Lara worked. One week since Leon had seen her, or even spoke to her. And at the rate things were going, it didn't seem very likely that he ever would again.

From the moment he'd first seen her again, he hadn't been able to function properly. It wasn't just that he'd been awakened by dreams of her nearly every night. Nor was it the fact that she had the starring role in all of his fantasies and daydreams. Well, at least that had only wreaked havoc upon his sleeping patterns. No, he'd be functioning perfectly well if not for the fact that during every waking moment his thoughts were constantly occupied by images of her, turning 'round to face him as she'd done that day--long, dark hair tied back away from her face...loose strands escaping, falling into those stormy gray eyes... that tall, graceful body he remembered so well...the soft, gentle swells of those curves he'd held, caressed, loved...

When they'd first become intimate, she'd constantly bemoaned the excess bits of flesh around her hips and thighs; suddenly so adamant about beginning a regime of health and fitness, until he'd palmed her hips, pressing light kisses to the very places she hated, trying to show her how much he loved every bit of her, no matter what she thought of herself. Eventually, he'd begun to suspect that her tirades were no longer as much about her "being fat," as they were for show. He'd laughed when he first realized what was going on, and Lara had only smiled that beautiful, toothy smile of hers as he'd gently pressed her back upon his bed and shown her just how much he appreciated her body.

Leon caught himself smiling as he installed a set of forged pistons in the supra he'd been working on all morning. Most of the girls he'd hooked up with over the years were naturally confident and well aware of their many _positive_ attributes. Lara, on the other hand, had always been slightly self-conscious in the boy department, never quite sure of her actions or the signals she was sending out to guys. Although he thought he'd told her often enough, Leon supposed she'd never fully been aware of how deeply she affected him.

Thoughts like these had plagued Leon for months after Lara had gone back home to New York, leaving him wondering if the reason she'd left him was ultimately because she really _hadn't_ know how much he'd loved her.

Leon shook his head. No, she'd known.

Feeling the familiar anger bubbling up inside of him again, he pushed himself away from his work and reached for his beer, taking a long, hard pull before getting back to work.

No matter that he thought he'd put all this shit behind him...just seeing her again brought it all back again--the love, the pain, the loneliness. On some level, he realized that she'd still had school to finish and that her mother and her grandmother were expecting her to come home at the end of the summer. And after all, Dom _had_ told him that she was only visiting and not to get too attached. But still. He'd really thought that if he just told her how he felt, she might've changed her mind and stayed with him. And now that she was back...he didn't know what to feel. Either way, he couldn't stop thinking about her...

"Leon?"

Leon bolted upright, banging his head against the hood of the car. "Ow--the hell..." he cursed. He'd found himself doing that a lot lately.

"Leon, what are you doin' here so early man?" Dom asked, an amused smirk tinging his features as he pushed the garage door all the way open to get the work day started.

Moving away from the supra, Leon rubbed his forehead agitatedly, only adding to the smattering of grease already there. A frown darkened his face as his green eyes shifted towards Dominic, regarding him steadily in the morning light.

"You alright, man?" Dom asked, one dark eyebrow quirked in curiosity as he stepped closer to Leon, folding his thick arms across his broad chest.

"Fine."

"Uh...right. Well, it's just you, me and Jess today, bro. Let's getting some stuff ready for Ava's birthday party this weekend."

Leon nodded and got back to work. Moving to slide underneath the supra's chassis, he found his thoughts wandering back over the past few years as he checked the oil and brake fluid.

After all that shit with Tran and Brian had gone down a few years ago, Brian had disappeared. Leon remembered with an almost startling clarity how tense those few days had been while he and Letty waited for the others to show. Dom and Mia were supposed to join up with them as soon as they found Jesse, but things hadn't gone according to plan. With Vince taken to hospital and Jesse near dead, they'd turned back and the four of them had stuck close together, unwilling to leave their friends behind.

And when a few weeks had passed and no charges in connection with the hijackings had been laid against any of the them, they'd all decided to take the opportunity afforded them and try to change their lives around. No more jacking trucks, no more illegal bullshit. They still went to a couple races every once in a while and kept in touch with the street scene with DT still up and running strong. They went to Race Wars pretty regularly for the thrills and some extra cashola, but they weren't the centre of the scene anymore, and Dom had been reduced to a sort of local legend; he was no longer 'King of the Streets.' Surprisingly enough, that hadn't seemed to bother him all that much.

After the accidents, Let had found out that she was pregnant. Thankfully, she hadn't lost the baby, but the scare had been enough to make Dominic take a step back and re-evaluate his life and the decisions he'd been making since he'd gotten out of prison. Leon had never seen he and Letty so happy.

Vince was still into cars and racing like the rest of the team, but after nearly losing his arm to that 18-wheeler (and also due to the fact that he'd finally snagged Mia), his infamous temper had cooled--to a degree, anyway--and the next thing they'd known, Vince was announcing that he'd always wanted to learn how to build and renovate houses and he'd gotten a job with a small, local construction company. After a year of working for JDH Housing, his boss had admired his drive and dedication so much so that he'd been offered a leg-up in the company and was now a part-time foreman. Although Leon missed working with his buddy, he was happy that he'd found something he really enjoyed. And he was doing really well with it, much to Mia's delight.

Shortly after Vince and Mia had started dating, Mia had ditched the idea of med-school and had instead decided to work towards getting her teaching degree. She was now teaching grade 7 at the local middle-school.

Jess and himself were still working at DT with Dom and Letty, though Letty had also taken on the management of Toretto's market. She'd hired a couple of college students to help run the store, while the rest of them focused on keeping DT running smoothly and bringing in more business.

Things had been going great for all of them, despite the different directions their lives seemed to be going in, what with Dom and Letty having Ava and now getting married, and Vince and Mia starting their own family, while he and Jess had moved out of the fort into an apartment of their own. And yet, in spite of all these life-changing events, Leon felt like he was stuck in a rut. Lately, he'd been entertaining thoughts of doing something else for a while. Maybe taking a vacation or going back to school. He wasn't sure what exactly was causing these feelings; he just felt like something was missing.

Inevitably, his thoughts returned to Lara. He wondered when he'd see her again...if it'd be soon...or if he even ever would. With a weary sigh, Leon slumped back on the creeper and resigned himself to another wasted day.

---

It was nearly lunch-time and things had been slow and steady, though things were bound to pick up at any moment.

"Mia!"

Spinning around on her stool, magazine splayed across her lap, Mia came face-to-face with one very angry-looking Lara.

"Uh..hey" Mia stuttered, reaching for her bottle of apple juice and taking a quick sip, "how's it going?"

"Hmm, let me think," Lara growled dangerously, pausing for emphasis, "it's going like crap!"

Mia flinched and eyed her cousin curiously, wondering why her eye was twitching like that. "What's the matter?"

Marching further into the store, Lara leaned over the counter, knuckles white from the death-grip she had on the countertop. "Mi--if you weren't pregnant, I'd kill you! I can't believe you sent Leon over to my work like that!"

Mia rolled her eyes and closed her magazine to devote her entire attention to her cousin, "Oh gosh, not this again."

"What are you talking about?" Lara asked, some of her anger dissipating as she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"The day Leon went to the bakery and saw you, he came back to our house all pissed off with me for meddling in his life." Mia snorted, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the wall, "I think he was probably more pissed that it seemed like you didn't actually want to see him again."

Lara didn't know what to say to that. Of course she'd wanted to see him. Ever since she'd left LA that night so long ago, thoughts of him had never strayed far from her mind. But there were...reasons...why she hadn't been to see him. "Mia, of course I wanted to see him. I know it's been five years, but deep down I always hoped that somehow we'd end up back together again..."

"Then why don't you just go and talk to him? He's not seeing anyone. And I know he still cares for you, hun."

"You know why I can't do that. I shouldn't even be here talking to you right now..." Lara trailed off, her voice lowering conspiratorily as she looked around her.

"Oh, please," Mia sighed, suddenly frustrated. She knew that Lara and Leon had issues to work out and that they needed to get to know each other again. After all, they'd both changed so much. But they were making a bigger thing out of it than it was. "Lala, we're here for you. You know that, hun."

"It's not myself I'm worried about!" Lara cried, startling Mia into silence. "If he finds me who knows what lengths he'll go to just to hurt me again? My mother's dead because of him, Mia! She tried to take us out of his way and he came after us."

"I know--" Mia started, but was cut off.

"We were just trying to live our lives away from him. What if he finds me, huh? And he comes after you and Dom...or Leon."

"They'll find him, sweetie," Mia soothed, pushing herself up and out of her seat and groaning softly at the extra bit of effort that simple movement required, "And you don't have to worry about us, ok?"

Motioning for Lara to come around the counter, Mia waddled over to her, embracing her tightly. "We know how dangerous he is. I know what could happen, but are you honestly going to live your life scared and always looking over your shoulder? Are you gonna give up a chance at getting Leon back? You guys were so good together. You couldn't have forgotten."

"I didn't forget," Lara whispered, her face still buried in the crook of Mia's neck. "But who says he even wants me back anymore? He's probably had loads of girlfriends and...and it's been so long."

Mia released her from her hug and went back to her seat, propping her aching feet up on the counter, "The way you keep going on like that is starting to make me think that maybe you don't actually want him anymore. Yes, it's been a while and time changes people. Experiences change people. But there's no reason why you guys can't at least try again, if that's what you both want. And if there's nothing there. IF there's no more spark between you two, then you can just be friends, right?" Mia reasoned, tilting her head to look her cousin in the eyes. "Maybe you guys could be truly happy again if you could just get past all this insanity. You both deserve happiness and I know you still love each other. So just talk to him, okay?"

"But Mia--"

"It's your choice, Lara," Mia stated matter-of-factly, gently pulling out of the hug and plopping herself back down onto her stool, already reaching for her magazine.

An all-encompassing silence, save for the occasional slurping sound of Mia sipping on her apple juice, filled the store as Lara stood debating with herself.

Leaning back against the countertop, she motioned towards Mia's general direction, "What're you doing reading those greasy tabloids, teach?" She smirked as Mia stuck her tongue out at her.

"I'm on leave." Silence reigned again for a moment, before Mia raised one dark eyebrow challengingly, in the manner of her older brother, "If you want to talk to him, he's at the garage." She grinned triumphantly as Lara took one last look at her before promptly spinning on her heel and bolting out of the store.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
**

**  
**

"Heeello!" Caryn Thompson greeted cheerily, twirling herself into the kitchen, cordless phone in hand. Pierre trotted along at her heels, tongue lolling happily as he glanced up at her curiously.

-

"Carrie!"

-

Almost yanking the refridgerator door off its hinges, Carrie grabbed an apple, tossing it high into the air and catching it one-handedly before taking a huge bite. "Yeahp?" she responded around a mouthful of apple.

-

Pulling her cell away from her ear, Lara examined it for a moment before returning it to her ear. "Care? Is that you crunching away over there or is my battery dying?"

-

"Well now, that's none of your concern, missy!" Caryn cheerfully admonished. "I think the _real_ question here is 'why are _you_ calling _me_?"

-

"Right," Lara muttered, quickly reverting back into business-mode. "I'm sitting in my car outside--"

-

"The shit-box?" Carrie interrupted, bending down to scratch behind Pierre's ears.

-

"Yes, the shit-box," Lara sighed, rolling her eyes. "Now, focus, girl. So, I'm sitting outside Dom's garage, you know DT, right?"

-  
"What're you doing there?" Carrie asked mid-munch, then abruptly stopped chewing on a gasp and nearly choked on a piece of apple. "Are you spying on Leon?!"

-

"No!!!" Lara shouted in her defense, sinking low in her seat, while keeping her eyes trained on the garage.

Silence greeted her.

"Ok, fine! I am!" she admitted, biting her lip as she waited for her friend to berate her.

-

"Dude, you can't spy on people! I know he's hot--"

-

"Hey!"

-

"--but you just can't spy on people." Carrie laughed suddenly, causing Pierre's ears to perk up and their coquatil, McGriff, whistled at her. "Hun, why don't you just go in and talk to him, like Mia suggested?"

-

"Because he doesn't want to talk to me, Care. The last time I saw him, he couldn't get away from me fast enough."

-

Carrie sighed, tossing her apple core into the mini kitchen composter and walking out onto the front porch of the small house she shared with Lara.

The sun was out and turning their little patch of lawn a crispy yellow colour. They really had to remember to water it... "Leon was not, I repeat _not_, trying to get away from you. He was probably just pissed off 'cause you guys haven't seen each other in forever and then when he finally does, you're like a closed book to him. Just go talk to him. Now. Explain everything before he stops caring either way, alright?"

-

"I don't know, man... What if he already doesn't care?" Lara murmured uncertainly, her eyes shifting back to the garage again where she could see a lone figure emerging, a cigarette dangling between his fingertips.

-

"Come on, you're just psyching yourself out now. Listen to Carrie, ok? Just march on in there, tap him on the shoulder, tell him _everything_, then kiss him senseless."

-

"What?!"

-

Carrie chuckled, crossing her eyes at the kid watching her from across the street. "I'm just kidding! But seriously, just go talk to him, ok? Maybe invite him to lunch or something!"

---

Getting out of her car, Lara glanced both ways before jogging across the street to DT. _It's now or never_, she told herself as she took a deep, calming breath before entering the garage. There was no one there. It was _empty_. She couldn't believe it. Hadn't Jesse just been outside a second ago?

"Hello?" she called, walking further into the garage.

"Hey girl."

Lara spun around, her heart thumping wildly as Letty emerged from the back store room. "Shit Let, you scared me." Glancing around at the empty garage again, Lara took note of all the cars beng worked on. Many of the jobs looked half-finished, just waiting for someone to get back to work. "Where is everybody?"

"Guys went to grab some lunch," Letty replied, looking Lara up and down before fixing her with that dark stare of hers, amusement dancing in her eyes as her lips pulled into a smirk, "You look nice."

Lara looked down at herself in her powder pink tank top, dark blue jean skirt and slip-on sneakers and shrugged lightly, as if to say "no biggie." Though when Lara's eyes met Letty's again, Lara knew the other woman could tell she was lying. In truth, she'd spent all morning going over her miniscule wardrobe trying to find the perfect thing to wear today. When she'd gone to see Mia, she'd already been planning on meeting up with Leon at some point later today, but she'd needed a little encouragement first, she supposed.

"You looking for anyone in particular?" Letty teased, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Lara her infamous eyebrow.

"Uh...nope. Nope, just thought I'd drop by and say "hi." So... uh "hi."

Suddenly, a tiny voice was heard from the back and Letty promptly turned around, her interrogation forgotten for the moment, as she headed into the back office.

Lara stayed where she was. She knew that Dom and Letty'd had a kid a few years ago, but she'd never met her and she was beyond curious.

Letty came back out into the main room balancing a cute, dark-haired little girl on her hip. The little girl looked up at Lara, sleepily rubbing one pudgy little fist over a pair of large, dark eyes.

"This is Ava," Letty whispered softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her daughter's head.

Lara's heart just about melted when the corners of Ava's little mouth turned up as she snuggled into her mother's warmth. "Hi, Ava," Lara smiled, taking the little girl's hand in her own and shaking it gently.

"This is your auntie Lala," Letty told Ava, flashing Lara an evil grin when Lara started to correct her.

"Lara," Lara said evenly.

"Lawa," Four-year old Ava murmured, unable to pronounce the letter 'r' properly.

"Close enough," Lara laughed, reaching out to tickle the little girl who wriggled in her mother's arms to get down, suddenly wide awake and ready to play with this interesting new person.

Letty smiled as she watched her daughter take Lara's hand and lead her around the garage, pointing out all the car parts and tools she knew. She'd missed her old friend all these years she'd been gone and was glad she was finally home, even if she was keeping her distance...

"Hey Lara! What're you doing this Saturday?"

Pausing in her lecture, Ava turned to face her mom, sucking on her lower lip as she glanced back and forth between the two adults.

"Uh...nothing. Why?"

"Wanna come to a party?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Leon had been lounging around his apartment all afternoon, wandering from one room to another and back again when he'd run out of rooms. Chachi had shadowed him for a while, popping his head in and out of the rooms and trailing after Leon, but the dog had eventually tired of the strange "game" and had trotted over to a sunlight-warmed patch of rug to wait out his friend's restless behaviour.

Settling himself down in front of the TV for the fifth time that day, Leon stretched his legs out before him and sat watching his dog who lay conked out on top of the Playstation controllers, effectively ruling out that option.

He didn't normally have Fridays off, but it had been a busy week for everyone, what with helping Vince and Mia move into their new home and trying to find any time in-between to work on the jobs they'd already taken on for the week. Dom and Letty had been up to their eyeballs in last-minute shopping and party preparations, so although the garage was closed, Leon had offered to go in today to get some work done. The throaty chuckle that sounded over the line assured him that while his willingness was appreciated, it really wasn't necessary. "Edwin can stand to wait a few days," Dom had told him, "And you and Jess deserve a day off, so don't worry about it." He'd been offering to help them run some errands, not looking forward to a day of boredom, when the sounds of rustling and scuffling abruptly cut him off as the phone switched hands and Letty's voice filled his ear, ordering him stop whining and take the damned day off, already!

So here he was sitting on his couch, _again_, and slowly nodding off when the door knob rattled.

Sitting up as a thump echoed in the hallway outside his door, Leon lazily pushed himself up and off the couch, ignoring Chachi's sudden alertness and the way his ears perked up, lips curling into a snarl.

Scratching his chest and yawning sleepily as he moved towards the door, Leon sighed, figuring Jesse had forgotten his keys again, and swung the door open to let his friend in. Only it wasn't Jesse who'd been trying to open the door.

Startled at having the door yanked open before her, almost causing her to fall face-forward, Tori Phillips jumped up from her half-crouched position, wide, guilt-filled hazel eyes locking with his angry glare.

"Oh! Leon--you're home!" Tori shouted happily as a wide, ecstatic smile replaced the look of guilt she'd worn.

Crossing his arms over his chest and gritting his teeth to reign in his anger, Leon glared down at the obnoxious woman as she straightened to full height. She was a full foot shorter than him with curly red hair and a slim body. She was attractive enough. Leon simply wished she'd find someone else to stalk, someone who might actually appreciate her efforts.

"What do you want, Tori?" Leon asked, feeling more than a little harassed at having this petite woman filling his doorway and trying to look beyond him into his apartment.

"Uhhh...nothing, nothing. I was just-- in the area? Yeah, and I thought I'd come and see if you weren't busy and wanted to do something with me?" she asked hopefully.

Leon sighed. Truthfully, from what he could remember of that drunken night five months ago, he'd liked Tori well enough and had found her an attractive alternative to the multitude of brunettes he'd met, who'd just reminded him of a certain brown-haired girl he'd once loved. Thinking back on that night, Leon wished he'd just taken his chances with one of the brunettes there that night, or better yet, that he hadn't slept with anyone at all...

"Leon?"

Snapping back to the present, Leon shook his head dismissively, backing into his apartment to keep an eye on her to make sure she wouldn't try to sidle past him, and starting to close the door in her face. "Look Tori, you're a nice girl, a'ight? But I already told you--I ain't interested, ok?" Seeing the shorter woman open her mouth to protest, Leon held up his hand while simultaneously pushing his dog away from the door so Tori wouldn't try to kidnap him again. "And even if I wanted to chill witchu, which I don't, I gotta go meet up with my _girlfriend_ anyways, so kindly--" Leon dropped his hand to make shooing motions he hoped Tori would understand.

"Y--you don't have a girlfriend," she accused, hazel eyes beginning to well with tears and narrowing as she regarded Leon steadily.

Hoping he'd found a loophole out of this whole mess, Leon crossed his arms again and met the girl's steady gaze with a glare of his own, "Actually, I do. And she don't take too kindly to other broads hanging around me and trying to lure me into bed with 'em, so I think it's a good idea for everyone if you just forget about me and find someone else, ok? Alright. G'bye."

Closing the door in the distraught-looking redhead's face, Leon locked the door and went to go take a shower, hoping that was the last he'd be seeing of Tori Phillips...

---

"Baaabe..."

"Whaaat?" Mia called back, distractedly.

Pulling a picture frame out of a box, she dusted it off before gently setting it down on the shelf in front of her. It was a picture that had been taken the day Ava was born. An exhausted-looking Letty was laying back against her pillows and cradling a tiny, scrunched-up, red-faced, little baby girl, all bundled up in pink and looking about ready to let loose an ear-piercing howl. And yet there stood her brother--one large hand splayed gently over baby Ava's stomach and grinning, face glowing with pride as he admired his new-born daughter. Tomorrow she'd be turning five years old and Mia couldn't believe how quickly she'd grown.

Abandoning her unpacking job, Mia waddled over to the sofa and slowly lowered herself onto it, propping her feet up on the coffee table as she rubbed her swollen belly. Feeling the baby kick, Mia felt a warm, fuzzy feeling envelope her and sat wondering and daydreaming about the day she'd finally get to hold her baby in her arms.

"Babe!"

"What!?!" Mia snapped back, angry at being yanked out of her daydream.

"Have you seen my Motor Chicks video?!" Vince shouted down to her from upstairs.

Mia rolled her eyes. _Honestly, men and their cars and their women. _

"What do you need chicks for?!" She shouted back, playfully. "I thought I was all the chick you needed?"

What sounded like an elephant tumbling down the stairs was actually Vince barreling down the steps and rushing into the room. "What did you do to it, woman?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mia stated, very matter-of-factly.

Suddenly Vince cracked a smile and reached for one of Mia's aching feet, really digging into the sole with his fingers and kneading it deeply.

"Ooooh that feels so good," she moaned, sinking back into the couch.

Vince smirked triumphantly. "Good enough to tell me where my video is?" he all but sing-songed.

"Never," Mia muttered sleepily, eyes closing in pleasurable delight.

Ceasing his ministrations and poking her foot in annoyance, Vince growled at her and left the room.

A sudden knock at the door had Mia groaning. "V? Would you get that, hunny bunch?" she called just as she heard the back door slam shut. _Crap_.

The impatient visitor knocked again and had Mia cussing all the way to the door.

"Oh, Lara. Hey--what's up?" Mia asked, surprised to see her cousin on the other side of her door. Wasn't she supposed to be at work today? "Come in, come in!"

---

The two women had been sitting together in the kitchen for the past ten minutes, sipping tall glasses of lemonade and chit-chatting about any random topic under the sun.

"So you just said 'yes'?" Lara asked curiously, fingers drumming an irregular pattern against the tabletop.

"Uh huh. Pretty much, yeah," Mia nodded, swirling her straw around in her glass. "I'd told him 'no' probably about a zillion times. I'd date these guys I always thought were perfect for me--"

"Like Brian," Lara provided.

Mia nodded her agreement, pausing to take a sip of her drink. "Like Brian. And then, when he and Jesse got better and things kind of returned to normal, he asked me out again and I thought, ya know, what the heck, right? What's one date gonna hurt? And maybe he'd get it out of his system."

The sound of loud hammering outside caught the girls' attention and they both glanced out the window seeing Vince putting something together.

"Um...where was I?" Mia asked, trailing off distractedly at the sight of her gruffly, handsome husband hard at work. "Oh yeah. So I thought, one date. No biggie. He'd been through hell and it was the least I could do. Plus, I felt like a real bitch 'cause he'd never been anything but nice to me...a little lewd, but nice, nevertheless.

"So we went out to this little restaurant--not the one he was gonna take me to originally, 'cause I went there with Brian.." Mia recalled, a faint flush of embarrassment colouring her cheeks as she thought back on the way she'd acted in her desperation to get Vince off her back. _She was glad, now, that he hadn't given up on her. _

"I remember getting home that night and feeling really surprised that we'd had such a good time. He'd told me jokes to get me to lighten up and we talked and laughed and when we pulled into the driveway at the end of the night, I actually felt nervous around him for the first time, but he didn't even try anything. When I looked at him, I could tell that he wanted to, but he just sat there, staring back at me. And then before I knew what was happening, I kissed him... And then I hopped out of the car and ran into the house and up to my room."

Lara laughed mockingly, "Chicken shit."

"Haha, yeah..." Mia murmured, smiling fondly at the memory. "But come on, cuz. I know we're interesting and all, but I know you didn't come here just to listen to me ramble on and on about Vince and myself, so spill."

"You know, I always told you that you and Vince would be good together..."

"Yeah, yeah," Mia huffed, scowling at Lara and wondering why she was avoiding the subject when she could tell something was definitely on her mind. "Spill."

Lara went still and stayed silent for a moment before meeting Mia's dark eyes and blurting out: "I'm gonna tell him!"

Chewing her lip thoughtfully, Mia motioned for her cousin to elaborate. "Tell who what?"

"I'm gonna tell Leon--everything! I'm decided. If I want him back, I'm gonna have to fight for him, right?"

"Right," Mia agreed, dutifully.

"So he wanted to know why I go by a different name and what's been going on, why I stayed away...and I'm gonna tell him.

"I've seen him around a few times since the day he walked into the bakery. I don't know if he saw me at all, but every time I see him my heart just literally stops beating. I still remember everything about us. But I don't want to live in the past, Mi. I still love him so, _so_ much and I wanna be with him again."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Mia wondered aloud.

"You got me into this by sending Leon over to my work, so in a way, I feel that it's pretty much your responsibility to see me through 'til the end," Lara responded matter-of-factly, flashing her cousin a cheeky grin.

"Point taken," Mia laughed. "So, when are you gonna tell him? Are you just gonna show up at his house?"

Lara shook her head, suddenly very determined. "No, I'll tell him after the party on Saturday. I'll ask him to go out for a coffee or something and then I'll tell him everything. And if he doesn't care or doesn't wanna try again, then at least I tried and I won't have to wonder about what could've been...again."

Mia simply nodded.

"I'm gonna tell him..." Lara reaffirmed. "Tomorrow..."


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey guys, my gorgeous, gorgeous laptop, that I use to write my fic, busted a while ago and since then, I've been forced to use a computer in the kitchen. The kitchen lol...so it's been a tad difficult to write much. Sorry updates aren't coming so frequently anymore, but I'm doing my best. Hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Gleeful shrieks and giggles echoing down the street told Lara that the party was already in full-swing, by the time she pulled up in front of the Toretto house the next day.

Catching sight of Leon's bright yellow Skyline, the butterflies flitting around in Lara's stomach went absolutely rampant. "You can do this," she assured herself while reaching down to roll up her window.

"Lara—hey!"

"Oh my god!" Lara started, clutching her chest to still her rapidly beating heart. "What the _hell_ are you doing sneaking up on people like that??"

Dominic grinned and pulled her car door open for her, "Letty asked me to keep an eye out for you."

"Did she also tell you to give me a heart-attack?" Lara muttered, reaching behind her for Ava's present before exiting her old and slightly rusty, but surprisingly reliable, Hyundai.

"Nah, I just thought I'd throw that in there. Give ya a lil' thrill."

Lara couldn't help but grin at the overall insanity of the situation. "Who _are_ you?" she joked as Dom slung a heavy arm around her shoulders and began leading towards the backyard.

"Just your friendly, neighbourhood Dom."

"Whaaat?" Lara gasped, eyeing her cousin mock-incredulously and giggling hysterically as she jerked away from him, trying desperately to breathe. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Hey!" Vince called, wandering out of the backyard and making his way over to them. "There you are, girl! Mia's been holding off on the potato salad and biscuits 'til you got here. It's about time there, little lady!"

"Shut up," Lara laughed, throwing Vince a playful jab to the ribs. He just grinned and followed Dominic towards the barbecue.

"Right…okay" Suddenly feeling super awkward and alone despite being surrounded by tons of people, Lara surreptitiously glanced around for a place to deposit her gift before heading off in search of Mia or Letty.

"You came!"

Caught off-caught, Lara almost fell backwards when a little bundle of energy collided with her. "Woah, hi Ava!" she greeted, returning the little girl's fierce hug with one of her own. She couldn't believe how warm and friendly she was; she'd only just met her yesterday.

"Did you bring me a present?" Ava chirped curiously while bouncing up and down on her toes, dark brown eyes sparkling with barely-contained excitement as she stared up at her new friend expectantly.

"Uhhh…of course!" Lara exclaimed, pulling back just a little to present Ava with her gift. She was beaming now, inwardly ecstatic to see the pure delight animating the child's face as she held the large, colourfully-wrapped gift in her little arms. "I hope you like it--"

Lara paused at the sound of footsteps approaching, and glanced up to see Leon walking towards the two of them, trying to suppress a grin as he watched their exchange.

"Why you greedy little monster, you," he growled playfully, sneaking up behind Ava and hoisting her high into the air and over his shoulder as she screamed and squealed with delight. "You got _another _present?" he asked, reaching up to tickle her exposed belly before lowering her to the ground again. "Did you say 'thank-you' to Lara?"

"Thank-you, Lawa!" Ava shouted happily, still giggling as she darted away, leaving the two of them standing awkwardly next to one another.

"Wow, she's energetic, huh?" Lara commented nervously, very much aware of how close Leon stood. She snuck a quick peek at him and tried to quell the rampage of butterflies making her tremble. _Get a grip, Lara…_

Leon seemed to sense her anxiety and offered her a reassuring smile. Her Leon was still the same, always concerned about her, even when she was the one guilty of acting like a jerk. "C'mon girl, let's go grab somethin' ta eat."

---

The party was slowly winding down as the noonday sun began to dip below the tree-line, casting the backyard in shadows.

The kiddies had all been picked up a few hours ago and Dom had just made the rounds with a sleepy Ava in tow before disappearing inside the house to put her to bed. Only the team remained now, staying behind to help Letty tidy up a bit.

Mia, too comfortable and pregnant to move, sat perched on a lawn chair, sipping a virgin strawberry daiquiri, and sending inquisitive looks Lara's way. Leon hadn't left her side once for the whole duration of the party and the two appeared relaxed and happy as they moved around each other to put things away, but Mia could tell that they still hadn't really talked.

Catching sight of the intense stare Mia was directing her way, Lara quickly turned her face away, thankful for the encroaching darkness as she felt her cheeks burn in humiliation. She'd waited so long to see Leon again that she'd never really given much thought to what she would tell him about her past. Every time she saw him, her heart raced, her pulse quickened, and her mind began to wander back over days passed.

Now faced with the end of the night, Lara knew she had to seize the opportunity and finally get things out in the open, once and for all. "Leon—"

"Lara—"

Green eyes met gray. "Sorry. Go ahead…"

"Um…I know it's getting kind of late and all, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to grab a coffee on the way home and…talk?" Lara crossed her fingers, knowing she wouldn't have the guts to ask again if he said 'no'.

Leon mentally slapped himself. He'd been so sure she was about to tell him where to go for practically stalking her all night. "Yeah. Yeah—of course."

"Okay. Great. Uhh..let's just say 'bye' to everyone first, I guess…then, uh, we'll get going…"

"Sounds like a plan," Leon murmured close to her ear.

_God…if this explanation wasn't so long over-due, I'd just let him maul me…_

---

Creeping slowly down the creaky staircase to avoid making too much noise, Dominic passed through the living room, spotting Jesse's blond head devouring his girlfriend, Shelby's, face. "Get a room, Jess," he muttered, lightly smacking the back of his friend's head to get him to stop desecrating his couch. "Better yet, take it home, guys. I ain't planning on sterilizing this sofa tomorrow."

Shaking his head with a smirk firmly planted on his lips, Dom wandered outside to see what else still needed to be done, but caught sight of his baby sister on the lounger.

"Hey, Mi," he greeted, crouching down next to her chair. "Everybody left?"

Mia nodded, straw slurping noisily in her now-empty glass. "Pretty much. Vince is just going to the bathroom before we go. And Lara and Leon left just now…"

"Together?"

"Mhm."

"So…I guess they'll be back on again by morning," Dom surmised, chuckling softly to himself.

There was no denying the two of them were good together. Kinda like him and Let. No matter how many times they'd fought over the years or were so convinced that they were through for good, something always pulled them back together. As Dom saw it, no matter how many obstacles get thrown in the way, and no matter how long you stay apart, some things were just meant to be.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"That your ride?" Leon asked as Lara left his side, walking past him to a car parked across the street.

"Yeah, it is," she retorted, eyebrows raising in challenge. "You wanna make something of it?"

Leon simply shook his head, laughing quietly to himself as he got into his skyline and followed her little, white shit-box down the street.

---

"Ok. So...what's up?" Leon asked, sliding into the booth across from Lara and taking a tentative sip of his coffee.

Lara smiled wanly, tilting her cup from side to side and watching disinterestedly as the mocha hued liquid sloshed around inside. "Ok. I'm ready."

Silence filled the space between them.

"Go ahead," Leon encouraged, wondering, now, just how big this "thing" really was.

"Ok..." Lara started, but abruptly cut herself off, changing tactics. "Actually, let me just say, right off the bat here... that... I do realize that it's been a _really _long time since we've seen each other and that I don't necessarily expect things to go back to how they were, 'cause ya know...we're different people now, and things have happened between us and with the rest of the world that have caused these changes... not that that's a problem or anything, 'cause--"

"Lara?" Leon cautioned, reaching a hand across the table to rest warmly upon her own. "I know. And I understand. So just... go ahead. Whatever you gotta say--just get it off your chest."

Lara nodded, courage renewed, and locked eyes with the man sitting before her... who was still holding onto her hand... and looking gorgeous as ever. _God_, Lara thought, _what is wrong with me? I can't even think straight when this man touches me. Shut-up brain! Go, Lara, go, speak!_ "Ahem... right. Well, you see... I only came back to LA for summer vacation."

"And I totally understand that," Leon interjected. "I was pissed off then, but I get it, now."

"Good," Lara continued, "'cause I never wanted to hurt you. I still care about you, so, so much. But I had to go back. I didn't live in LA anymore. I had my mom and my grandma and a whole other life waiting for me back in New York." She paused to take a sip of her iced cappuccino. "So anyways, this is what happened:

"I went back home and things were going alright. I missed you like hell, but I had to finish my schooling, and since my grandma was the one paying, I had to do that in New York."

Leon shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable with the story that was being laid out here. "Are you tryna say that you were planning on comin' back as soon as you were done with school?" he asked, feeling decidedly light-headed. "'Cause, I mean, I know you said before that you wanted to stay for a while, but you hadta go back to finish some stuff up. But, like, you were gonna come back? You already knew this?"

"Yes," she stated simply, wide gray eyes regarding him steadily.

"So why didn't ya say anythin' about that? I thought you were gone for good."

"I called you," Lara murmured.

"Yeah, that like one time, a friggin' week after you left…and then never again."

"Well _you_ could've called _me_, Leon!" Lara shot back, suddenly angry that he was placing the whole of the blame upon her. "I gave you my number. And for your information, I called more than once! But I figured that you didn't want to talk to me anymore. You were so mad that I left and you were like...I don't know. You were just so quiet on the phone."

"I missed you, girl. I didn't want some long-distance kinda shit. I wanted to talk with you, be with you, touch you...feel you next to me. Plus I thought maybe you had another reason for staying away as long as you did..."

Lara sat back in her seat. She could hardly believe this man sitting before her was Leon. She'd never seen this softer, insecure and almost vulnerable side of him before. "What do you mean?"

"Like maybe you didn't love me anymore or something. I don't know!"

Lara vehemently shook her head and quickly stretched across the table. "No, don't you say that. We loved each other so much. And whatever your feelings are for me now, I still love you as much now as I did then!"

"Holy...shit." Leon stared at Lara, green eyes boring into her. "Wow."

A pair of wide gray eyes stared sightlessly back at him. "Wow." Retreating back over the expanse of the table, Lara sank back into her seat, her eyes never leaving his. "I didn't mean for that to come out the way it did."

Leon eyed her skeptically. "So, what? You didn't mean it then? You just say stuff in the heat of the moment and then take it back like you never meant it at all?"

"Hey! I never said that! Why are you putting words in my mouth? All I said was that I didn't mean for it to come out like that!" Lara huffed. "I don't say things I don't mean, Leon. You should know that. And anyway, just what did I say that would even give you the slightest--"

"I still love you, too."

Lara's breath caught in her throat. "Leon, you don't have to—"

"I don't say things I don't mean, Lara."

Lara felt a tingling warmth spread through her at Leon's words, and smiled shyly up at him as her entire body reverberated with pleasure.

"Ok…ok enough of the mushy gushy stuff," Lara laughed, suddenly feeling much more relaxed. Leon grinned back at her, obviously pleased with the evening's turn of events. "Onto the more serious stuff…"

"What stuff? I thought you just told me everything?" Leon asked, feeling his body go rigid as he wondered what else was in store for him tonight.

"Not quite," Lara sighed.

Leon waited for her to elaborate. When she didn't, he reached for her hand again, cradling her palm with his and gently tracing the delicate bones of her fingers. "What's wrong baby? You can tell me," he cajoled, worry creasing his brow at the sight of tears filling her beautiful eyes.

Lara drew in a deep shuddering breath, turning her gaze to watch Leon's long, familiar fingers trace soothing patterns across her skin. "Ok. Well, these past few years, I've been enrolled in culinary school. It's what I'd always dreamed of doing, and my grandmother had the money to make it happen, so I couldn't come back to LA until I'd at least completed my formal training.

"My mom and I moved out of my grandma's house and had our own little apartment and life was going pretty smoothly. She'd started seeing this really great guy who treated her so, so well and it looked like they were gonna get married. Scratch that. They _were_ going to—he proposed and she said 'yes'.

"Then, we started having problems with our house alarm… We called in the company and they explained that someone had been tampering with it, causing it to malfunction. Then, we started to notice that our things were going missing or being moved around the apartment. Mom and I had a long talk and she told me that she thought it might have been Jim—that was her fiancé's name. This went on for a while before my mom got fed up and confronted Jim…and they broke up.

"After that, the stuff kept happening. Then, one day, while my mom and I were cooking dinner, our doorbell rang. It was my dad. We hadn't seen him in…god, must've been a good few years; not since we left LA anyway. He didn't say too much then—just kinda shoved me aside and yelled at my mother 'cause he'd seen her around with "some guy." Well…they got into it and my dad stormed off. I was pretty glad to be rid of him. We left LA _because _of him. He had some screws loose up there…didn't take too well to family life.

"Um…so he disappeared for a while and my mom figured that she had a pretty good idea of what had happened and called Jim and they patched things up. Things were going great and we forgot all about my dad again. Then…" Lara paused to wipe away a flood of tears beginning a slow descent down her cheeks.

Leon could feel the anger rising up inside of him. He'd never met Lara's dad, but considering Lara's reaction, he imagined the man must be a total asshole. "It's ok, girl. I won't let anythin' bad happen'ta you."

Lara nodded, in awe of how Leon had always managed to make her feel so safe and protected. "Well…so, things were going real good. Then, one day, I came home from work and the lock was broken on our door. I thought that maybe someone had broken in and stolen all our stuff—"

Realizing that he knew where this was heading, Leon abruptly stood up and moved around the side of the table and slid into the booth next to Lara. "Shhh," he soothed, wrapping both arms around her body and pulling her into his embrace. "Don't cry, baby. Don't cry."

"No one robbed us, Leon," Lara sobbed, her crystal eyes shining with tears as she stared up at him. "My dad—he killed her. He broke in and killed her. She was just…watching a soap—the TV was still on when I got there…"

"Fuck," Leon muttered, unable to contain the expletive. How could someone do that? Just kill someone in cold blood, without any good reason? "I'm sorry, Lara…I, shit, I don't even know what I could say to help make you feel better."

Lara sighed, tenderly stroking one hand down the length of Leon's arm. "You don't have to say anything, Le. Just being with you here…and sharing this helps a lot. Kinda takes away the burden of keeping it all bottled up, ya know?"

Leon reached out to wipe her tears away from her face and pulled her closer so he could press a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "What happened after that…if you don't mind me asking?"

"The cops found and arrested him and I moved back in with my grandmother. Jim was wrecked, but he's kept in touch. He's a good guy…I just feel so bad that the last bit of time he had left with my mom got messed up so bad. I just remember thinking—how could so many things go so wrong in such a short span of time?

"Then, to make matters worse, the cops couldn't detain my _father_ for some reason or another, so as soon as he's got some bail money scraped up, he'll be released. My grandmother sent me back here to try and get away from it all—start a new life… so, here I am."

"I'm glad you are," Leon murmured, pressing another gentle kiss to her forehead.

Lara leaned up and brushed her lips against his, smiling softly. "Me, too."


	13. Chapter 13

**C****hapter 13**

"Nina! Nina, where are you? Come out her for a moment, will you?"

Suppressing the urge to laugh at her boss' frantic tone, Lara simply shook her head, grinning as she scooped the last dollop of double chocolate fudge frosting onto a decadent, Belgian chocolate cake.

"Just a minute..." Lara called back distractedly, her mind already trailing off in another direction.

She'd been in such a good mood lately, constantly smiling and laughing at every little thing and just feeling so damned _good_ inside.

Things were going so, so well with Leon--better than she would've ever imagined. They'd quickly discovered that being together wasn't the same as it'd been when they were younger, but not in a bad way. They'd both grown up and gone through so much without the other that it was kind of exciting to rediscover and get to know each other all over again. And they'd taken full advantage of it.

They'd gone to see a massive automotive exhibition with the team down in San Francisco one weekend, and had spent much of the day off in their own little world, much to the amusement of their family. During the long work day, they'd send each other random texts--the really dirty ones were mostly Lara's doing. She could just imagine him blushing that charming shade of pink as he read her spicy little messages... while all the guys poked fun at him he he. And boy did he punish her for it. Lara felt her own cheeks redden with remembered pleasure...but quickly snapped herself out of her midday reverie.

They'd call each other just to talk sometimes and spend hours talking about anything and everything well into the early morning hours, just to hear the other's voice. God, they were sappy, Lara mused, snickering to herself in the otherwise silent room.

Sometimes, they'd go out for ice cream or stay in and watch a movie lounging on the couch, curled-up together... and just last Sunday evening, Leon had kidnapped her and brought her down to the beach where they'd shared a moonlit pic-nic. Lara felt her blush deepen as little frissons of pleasure spread through her body.

Lara smiled softly to herself as she stood smoothing the creamy frosting over the cake and remembering every little thing they'd talked about...and done...beneath "the blanket of stars", as Leon had whispered in her ear that night. Man, her boyfriend was corny... she thought to herself, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards into a cheesy grin as she felt her heart warm, swelling with emotion at the thought of the man she loved. Corny, he may be, but god how she loved that cornball...

"Nina!"

"Oops!"

Lucy stomped into the room, a scowl darkening her chiseled features.

Lara shrunk back, "I'm sorry, Lucy. I got sorta side-tracked--"

"Whatever," Lucy snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "I just came to tell you that Miss--oh no, sorry--_Mrs_. Peterblauch LOVED the wedding cake you made for her. She absolutely adored it and told all of her friends about us. How did you do it? I've been baking for _years_ and have never received such high praise!"

Lara shrugged humbly, cheeks tinging with colour at Lucy's high-strung flattery. "Ohh...you know? A little of this; a little of that--"

"_**Knock, knock**_" The two women turned to see Leon's head peeking in through the doorway. "Sorry, girls. This a bad time? I can come back lata..."

Lucy marched over to Leon and slipped an arm through his, "Not at all, not at all. I was just telling Nina, here, how much Mrs. Peterblauch _adored_ the cake she made for her wedding last week. She called me personally to recommend her."

Lara felt her pulse quicken as Leon smirked at her, beautiful green eyes glowing with pride. "That's great, baby. Dom and Let are gonna be happy to hear this, huh?" he teased.

Lucy smiled indulgently as her dark eyes glanced back and forth between the two of them. "What are you two waiting for? Gooo, go celebrate together! Take her somewhere nice, Leon," she added as Leon let go of Lucy's arm and reached for Lara's hand.

"I will; don't worry," he reassured the heavy-set Russian-born woman, still grinning broadly as Lara's fingers settled into his palm and she followed him out of her kitchen.

"One hour lunch, only, heh?!" Lucy shouted after them.

"Okay!"

The two of them were just walking out the door when Lara realized she still had her apron on. "Oh, crap... Hey Le, hun, can you go on ahead to the car? I forgot to put my apron away. Go ahead--I'll be right out in a minute."

Walking back into the bakery, Lara headed for the kitchen and found Lucy there, kneading the dough for the sweet bread.

"Hey, Luce. I just forgot to put my apron back. I'm gonna head out now. I'll be back in an hour, okay? See ya then. Byeee!"

More than a little excited for her lunch date with her boyfriend, Lara pivoted on her heel and practically ran out the door, only to stop short as a customer strolled into the shop.

Dressed in a bright pink halter top, blue short shorts and a pair of flip-flops, the customer wandered over to the front counter, ignoring Lara's presence.

"Uh, hi there. Welcome to 'Cinnful Pleasures'."

The customer turned from her perusal of a plate of sweets covering the glass counter top, and eyed Lara up and down before leveling her with a superior glare.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable at the woman's obvious attempt at intimidation, Lara attempted to shrug it off and continue with her little spiel. "My name is Nina. Is there anything I can help you with today?"

The woman's hazel eyes twinkled sharply as she smiled a pleasantly sweet smile and flipped a few stray red curls over her shoulder. "Nope, I'm just looking."

Lara nodded politely and poked her head into the back kitchen again to tell Lucy she was finally leaving and that she had a customer to attend to.

Feeling the woman's eyes on her back, Lara felt her spine crawl at the unpleasant sensation and walked right out of the store without a backward glance.

---

Leon was waiting for her by his car.

"Hey there...I thought you'd be waiting inside all ready to go?" Lara hinted, walking up to her boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his waist as she snuggled into his warm body and pressed a quick kiss to his lips in greeting.

"Eh, thought we'd walk down the street to that new place they just opened on tha corna there," he replied, nuzzling her nose with his and returning her kiss before pushing away from his car and pulling her into his side as he began walking down the sidewalk.

"So you're still Nina, huh.." Leon stated, more than asked, as he flicked on the skyline's alarm before dropping the keys into his pocket.

"Le..." Lara moaned, pulling away from him slightly to make sure he understood her one and for all. "I can't tell her...or anyone else, okay? Not only is my father due out on bail at any moment, I also don't want him to find me...or Dom or Mia or Ava...or you..." she whispered, trailing her fingers down his arm and lacing her fingers through his. "Plus, it's my _legal _name now. My grandmother and I had it changed. So even if telling people who I _was_ could make a difference, it doesn't change the fact that this _is_ my name now. But I'm still the same Lara, Le... That hasn't changed."

"What _is_ your name? Your _legal_ name, I mean?" Leon clarified, suddenly curious.

"Nina Lara Spinelli, but I usually just write 'Nina Spinelli'. 'Lara's' more a _middle_ name, if anyone happens to overhear."

"Well as long as you keep the Lara in there, I guess..." Leon shrugged, as if conceding defeat, and began pulling her along beside him again. "Plus, when you marry me, your last name's gonna change anyways, so in a way, it all works out okay."

Lara stopped mid-stride and yanked him back to stand still in front of her. "What did you just say?"

Leon seemed puzzled, "What?"

"You said 'when I marry you, my last name's gonna change anyways...' "

Leon shrugged nonchalantly, but she could see the tension clouding his clear green eyes and noticed the way his brows knit together defensively. "So?"

"Are you serious? Marriage?" she asked, wondering at the fluttery feeling engulfing her heart, as her eyes sought the truth in his gaze.

"I don't know. Do you want me to be?" he asked. He was being deliberately evasive, almost as if he could tell she wasn't too keen on the idea, herself, and didn't want to press the issue.

"Leee," she whispered, pleading with him to look her in the eye, "I love you more than anything. I can't even describe how hard my heart beats when you're near me or when you smile that adorable little smirk... I want to be with you so, so much, but--"

"Look, just forget about it for now, 'kay?" Leon interrupted, letting go of her hand and slinging his arm around her shoulders to draw her body closer to him. "Let's go grab some lunch and we'll talk some more later, a'ight?"

_I want to be with you so much, baby, but I don't know what's going on inside of me. I've never felt this way before and I don't want to mess things up before we can figure everything out. _Lara wanted to argue with him, to say the words aloud and demand he listen, but she stopped herself. They'd talk when they were both ready. "Okay...later," she reluctantly agreed, wrapping an arm around his waist as they began walking down the street again. "Is Subsumo okay?"

"It's perfect," Leon muttered noncommittally, his mind whirling as he wondered what had just happened.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, just haven't been able to crank one out recently lol. Thanks again for your reviews! Hope ya like this one :)_

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Leon had been working on the same car for the past couple of days; no matter how hard he tried to focus and get his work done, he just couldn't. He didn't know what the problem was, exactly, but there'd been this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach all morning that he just hadn't been able to shake.

With an aggravated sigh, he reached over to turn up the radio before sliding underneath the car to change the oil.

The strains of an old r&b song filled the garage as Leon grabbed a pan and unscrewed the oil tank's cap, allowing the dark, pungent liquid to flow out into the pan.

Dom and Letty were somewhere in the back store room doing god knows what. Leon smirked. They'd been so lovey-dovey with each other since their huge blowout of a fight last week--always hugging and kissing each other...even when not alone... Chuckling at the thought, Leon set to work and was just re-screwing the cap on the oil tank when a sudden noise made him fumble and jar the cap askew.

"What the fuck! Would you guys get a room or somethin'?!" Leon shouted agitatedly, feeling the dark brown liquid seep through his coveralls. "Great, just great..."

Dropping his wrench and almost succeeding in poking an eye out, Leon slumped back on the creeper, defeated. God, nothing was going right lately.

"Ahem." And the hits just keep coming. Friggin' customers...he wasn't even done with this car yet.

"Yeahp?" he called out in reply, unwilling to slide out from underneath the car he was working on. Jess could attend to her. He wasn't doing much this afternoon. Just adjusting some car layouts on his computer and keeping an eye on Ava who was happily doodling in her colouring book.

"Can we talk?"

Leon felt his entire body stiffen at the sound of her voice. His heart jack-hammered violently against his ribcage as he slowly slid out from underneath the car and stood up, coming face-to-face with Lara. "Sure. What's up?" he asked nonchalantly, attempting to downplay the slight heart-attack he was having at the moment. Something in the tone of her voice and the way she was refusing to meet his eyes felt off...what could she need to talk about?

One hand digging into her jeans pocket, Lara jerked her thumb towards the entrance of the garage, "Could we maybe go outside...for a minute?"

Silence filled the space between them. The tension in the air was more than they could bear.

Leon clenched his jaw, nodding his assent, and followed her outside.

---

An hour half-past noon found the DT team all sitting around the garage together, wolfing down their lunches, and shooting the metaphorical breeze.

No one commented on Leon's lunchtime presence, unusual as it was, though that isn't to say that it had gone unnoticed.

"So, your weddin's comin' up there, eh Dom?" Jess queried, taking a quick sip of his coke and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively in Dominic's direction.

"Yeah."

"Nervous?" piped up one of the new mechanics, Frank.

"Am I nervous?" Dom repeated, one eyebrow raising in question as his dark eyes bored a hole through the younger man.

Frank licked a gob of mayonnaise from his upper lip and wondered why his boss was staring at him like he had two heads, "Yeah..."

His assuredness seemed to snap Dominic out of his mood and he shrugged his hefty shoulders in response, "Whaddo I gotta be nervous about? Me and Let've been together for like eight years. We already live together AND have a kid together. It's gonna be a regular day just like any other, especially since all you shits are gonna be there..."

Frank snorted, almost choking on his beer as it came back up the wrong way, "Love you, too, bud. Love you, too."

Dom smirked and thumped the guy on the back, "Thanks for the support bra."

Swallowing what was left of his sandwich, Leon hoisted himself up off his milk crate, tossed his wrapper in the garbage and strode off into the back room without a word to anyone.

"Geez, what's eating his nuts?"

The remaining men turned to see Letty's older brother enter the garage.

"Hey Diego, what's up man?" Dom asked, getting up to greet his soon-to-be brother-in-law. The two men slapped hands and hugged briefly.

"Yo, not much Dom," Diego answered, nodding 'hello's around to the rest of the group. "I was just lookin' for my hermanita. Mama's been buggin' me to figure out what to get her for a present, ya know? So, if you could point me in the right direction, that'd be cool, bra."

Dominic laughed, "Well, I don't really know what she'd want, D. But she's over at the market with Mia and Ava right now, if you wanna go talk to her?"

"Awesome, I'll head over there, now. Check ya lata, Dom. See yas guys."

"Alright, you guys almost done there?" Dominic asked before shoving the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and tossing his garbage into the bin. "We got a lotta shit to finish up today. Slavino's prelude's supposed to be done by now. Jess, go get Leon, will ya? No slackin'; let's get a move on, guys."

---

"Maaaami, I don't like lettuce," Ava complained as she poked her chubby, little fingers into her sandwich and began fishing out the hateful green leafy things, adding them to the slices of tomato and pickle already littering her plate.

Letty gave an exasperated sighed and rolled her eyes, though an amused smile played upon her lips. "Alright, mija, but you're gonna have to learn to like them eventually," she stated matter-of-factly, smiling indulgently as she brushed a lock of dark, silky hair away from her daughter's forehead.

"I know," Ava glumly acquiesced, continuing to pick out any last remnant of fruit or vegetable from her sandwich as she sat perched upon her stool, legs kicking back and forth as she worked. "I'll eat some vegge-ables later..."

"Well okay then.." Letty complied, turning back to her own lunch. "You _sure_ you and V wanna watch this little monster while Dom and me are away?"

Mia just laughed at the angry, little frowning pout Ava shot her mother's way. "I'm sure, Let. And I don't see any monsters here, only my sweet, little Avie."

Ava beamed up at her aunt and took a bite of her chicken sandwich, now satisfactorily devoid of anything even resembling a vegetable.

Mia smiled at her niece before turning her attention back to her friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Oooh Let, can you believe the wedding's only a week a way?? I'm so excited. Are you excited?"

Letty met her friend's dark eyes, sparkling with pure exhilaration and joy, "Sure, I'm excited, Mi. But it's not gonna be a _huge_ thing or nothin'. Just a regular ol', extra happy day."

Mia laughed, "That's what Dom said, too. You guys coordinating your stories or something?"

Letty just smirked and stuck her tongue out. "Maaaybe."

"Yo, sis!"

Spinning on her stool, Letty coughed as the air left her lungs as she was swept up into a bear hug. "Geez, D, give a girl a little breathing room!"

Diego laughed and let her go, then swept his niece up in a similar fashion, "Hey there, muchacha. How's it hangin'?"

"Good!"

"Well, that's good," Diego agreed with a wide smile as he deposited her back on her stool to finish eating her lunch. "Hi, Mia. How's life?"

"Great. Me and Vince moved into our own house not too long ago and we're all just getting ready for the wedding now," Mia replied pleasantly. "How are you, Diego?"

"Not too bad, just hangin' around, ya know? I just stopped by the garage to see if you were there, sis. Leon was actin' a little weird. Something the matter wit' him?"

Letty and Mia exchanged glances. "What do you mean 'weird'?" Mia asked.

Diego looked at the women before him, wondering at their obvious concern, "I dunno...just didn't look like himself, today. It's prolly nothing, though. No worries, ladies." _Tough crowd_, Diego thought to himself as his sister and her friend both remained silent. Even Ava was silently munching away on her sandwich.

Letty and Mia kept sending, what they must've thought were covert, glances at each other. Something was definitely up.

Rubbing the back of his neck at the sudden awkwardness of the situation, Diego decided to switch gears before he resorted to a head-lock to break the tension... "Anyways, sis. Mami was wonderin' if you wanted or needed anything, as sort of a wedding present, ya know? And don't say that you guys don't need anything, 'cause you know I won't be able to have kids if I go back without an answer..."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Later that day, Dominic followed behind his daughter at a leisurely pace, smiling at the way her curly pig-tails bobbed and swayed as she gleefully skipped down the long hallway towards the last door on the left.

"Can I knock, papi?" Ava asked, turning her large dark eyes upon her father questioningly.

Dom nodded his assent and waited for the door to be opened. Foot tapping a rhythmic staccato against the concrete flooring, he wondered what could have both Mia _and_ Letty so worried about their friend.

The door swung open a moment later to reveal a slightly inebriated Leon.

"Hey man, we came for a visit. Mind if we come in?" Dom asked, nudging Ava forward slightly. Leon never could say 'no' to Ava. No one could, it seemed, Dom thought, smirking inwardly.

"Hi unco Leon!"

"Hey there, kid." One side of Leon's mouth pulled up into a lop-sided grin as he took Ava's hand in his and led father and daughter inside.

Once inside, Ava immediately let go of Leon's hand and ran off in search of Chachi.

"So, where's Jess tonight?" Dom asked casually, relaxing back onto the couch.

"Out with Shelby," Leon replied tonelessly, handing his friend a beer before plopping down next to him.

"Let's cut the small talk, a'ight? What's the matter, Le? And don't say 'nothin' 'cause me and everyone else can tell that it's somethin'."

Leon scowled, beer half-way to his lips, green eyes glaring.

Dominic persisted. "What happened, man?"

"Lara broke up with me."

"Broke up with you? I don't understand--"

"Yeah, she broke up with me, a'ight? I don't know how I could make it any more understandable! Fuck, I don't even understand it..."

Dom exhaled loudly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Well, what happened? Things were going good, right?"

"That's what I thought," Leon retorted, fists balling in anger. "We were hanging out a lot, taking things slow, ya know? Then, she shows up at the garage today and breaks up with me."

"What the--" Dom shook his head, wondering what had been going on between his cousin and his friend to have made the relationship sour so quickly. "Did she say why?"

"Sorta. Somethin' about how we aren't the same people anymore and how things always get screwed up so easily and maybe that happens for a reason...like we're not meant to be together or some shit. I mean, fuck this bullshit of fate, right? What the fuck do I care if we're "meant to be together." I _know_ we are. But she can't accept that. Always goin' on and on with that 'we're different people, now' crap. Who care if we're different? Obviously we're not gonna be the same after five years apart. I mean--...shit. I don't know how else to convince her that none of that crap matters to me."

"Dude, you got a tape recorder? 'Cause what you said just now convinced _me _to do you and we ain't even together," Dom said in all-seriousness.

Leon burst out laughing and punched Dom's arm hard, "Shut up, you homo. Hot as you are cue-ball, I like women."

"Well, ya know, I just thought I'd throw that out there for ya. Just in case." Dom grinned cheekily.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe if you weren't marryin' Let next week, I'd give you a chance."

Both men chuckled slightly, then sigh deeply and sunk back into the sofa.

"So what're you gonna do, man?"

Leon shook his head and took a sip of his beer. "I dunno, dawg. I dunno..."

---

When Vince got home from work later that evening, he kicked his boots off and wandered into the kitchen, looking for something to fill his growling stomach.

"Hey, hunnybun," Mia cooed from her place at the table.

"Ugh, you know I hate that name, baby," Vince grumbled, ambling over to his wife and bending down to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

"Well, I refuse to call you 'Big Poppa Vin,' so deal. It's either 'hunnybun' or 'sugarbutt.'"

Vince chuckled in defeat and sat down beside his wife at the table. "I'd rather be called 'sugarbutt,' believe it or not," he capitulated and began shoveling several large helpings of pasta onto his plate.

"Sugarbutt it is," Mia agreed, reaching out to stroke the dark curls at the nape of her husband's neck. "So you're home kinda late today, huh?"

"Yeah, busy day. Joe just signed a contract for this friggin' massive job at this mansion in the upper west side. We worked our asses off all day, but I can already tell it's gonna take at least another couple weeks. Stupid prick thinks we're fuckin' elves or--"

"Vincent!"

"Shit, sorry babe.." Vince muttered apologetically, throwing a glance towards his wife's very pregnant belly. "I still say the baby can't hear us though...and even if he can, he don't know what I'm saying, anyway."

"That's not the point. Once she's born you're gonna have a hard time stopping and then I'm gonna have to punish you," Mia stated, though a small grin graced the corners of her lips.

"Well, that might not be such a bad thing," Vince conceded, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, and grinning smugly at the flush of colour stealing up his wife's neck and painting her cheeks a delicate pink.

The two sat in silence for a moment, eyes drinking each other in.

"So, uh...junior should be comin' out soon, eh?"

"The doc said any day now..."

Vince leaned over to brush a tender kiss against his wife's lips and pulled away smiling, "Can't wait."

"Aaanyways," Mia started, sitting back and folding her hands over her belly as she watched her special tomato sauce gnocci quickly disappear, "Did you happen to see any of the guys on the way home?"

"Uhh..who in particular? I saw Frank for a bit..."

"Oh. I was just wondering if you got a chance to talk to Dominic."

"Not today. Why?" Vince asked, suspicions rising. "What're up to, woman? You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"I--I didn't even do anything," Mia stammered defensively, dark eyes wide, as if professing their innocence.

"Yeah, right. And you're a virgin," Vince muttered sarcastically, glancing pointedly at her belly. "You're up to something. Ah--ah--ah! Don't even try to deny it. I know that look, baby."

Mia rolled her eyes in response.

"There we go--that's the Mia I know and love. Now, no meddlin' alright? Just let people figure shit out for themselves. I'm sure these poor souls each got a brain, so just let 'em be, okay?"

Mia lips twitched, but she remained silent.

"Promise..." Vince cajoled, leaning in to rub his nose against hers. "Prooooomiiiiiiise..."

Mia cracked. "That's cheating!" she shouted in her own defense. "You know I can't resist the Eskimo kiss!"

"Why do you think I do it?" Vince laughed, grinning triumphantly as he set back to work on his dinner, never realizing that he hadn't actually secured Mia's promise...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The phone was ringing just as Carrie poked her head out of the shower. "Geez..." she grumbled to herself. "Can't even snag a little 'me' time in the bathroom...for a few hours..."

**_Briiiiiiing_**

"Uuuuuugh," she groaned dramatically, hopping out onto the slick floor and hurriedly throwing a towel around her body.

_**Briiiiiiing**_

Sprinting down the hallway to pick up the extension in her bedroom, she noticed the little puddles of water she was leaving in her wake. Lara was so gonna kill her if she stepped in one of those when she got home... but there was no time to worry--the phone was ringing!

Diving onto her bed just as the answering machine was about to pick up, Carrie snatched the cordless up, putting it to her ear. "Hell-ooo?" she greeted, panting breathlessly.

"Lawa, please talk to uncol Leon."

Twisting herself into a more comfortable position, Carrie couldn't help but smile at the precious, little voice coming across the line. "Awww. Sorry sweetie, but this isn't Lara."

There was a slight rustling sound and then another voice coming over the line: "Oh my goodness, I don't know _what_ she was doing on the phone. Bad Avie!"

More rustling was heard, before a hushed and slightly muffled: "Good girl. Auntie Mia'll buy you an ice cream cone later, okay? Thank-you, hunny. You can go play, now..."

Boy, was this ever funny. Carrie covered her mouth to hold in her laughter, but a few giggles seeped out through her fingers. "I can hear you, ya know?" she informed the other woman, with just a hint of laughter tinging her words.

"Oh."

Carrie twirled a strand of wet blonde hair around her finger as she waited for the woman on the other end to elaborate. She didn't. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Oh, right--sorry! Um...I was hoping Lara would answer the phone..." the woman apologized, her voice trailing off as the awkwardness of the situation began to set in.

"Yeah, yeah, I got that," Carrie agreed, wrapping her towel tighter around body and leaning slightly to the left to peer into the mirror above her dresser. Ugh. Blackheads galore. She'd have to take care of those later, but for now... "Instead, you got the best friend, huh?" she reminded the woman, chuckling sardonically. "So what can I do for ya--?"

"Oh, sorry. Mia. I'm Lara's cousin."

"Oh ya, hey! I remember you. How ya doin'?"

"Good, good. And yourself?"

"Not bad."

"Awesome."

Silence. Great, more awkwardness...

"Um. Sorry. This is Carrie, right? Just for the record?" Mia asked.

Carrie laughed, reaching for a comb to untangle her honey blonde locks. "Yep, that's me."

"Great, great. Um, so I was just wondering: have you talked to Lara lately? Say, within the last coupla days?"

Carrie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Now that Mia mentioned it, she _hadn't_. Hmm... "Not too much, no. She's been kinda M.I.A., actually."

"Oh, oh. So, you wouldn't happen to know that she broke up with my friend, Leon, then...?"

Carrie set the comb down and sat up straight. "She what?"

"She broke up with him. Went to see him at work yesterday and basically just told him it was over."

"I thought it just kind of didn't--work out. Wow. God, I had no idea..."

"I don't think Leon had any clue either."

"Poor guy."

"I know," Mia agreed sadly. "I've been trying to call Lara, but her cell's been off. I mean...I guess I shouldn't really be interfering anyways--my husband's always telling me not to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong--but I just can't understand it. Things were going so well between them and they both seemed so, so happy."

"Yeah, that is a bit of a pickle. I wonder what the deal is..."

"Me too. Do you think that you could maybe talk to her? Just see what's up, ya know? Maybe it's nothing and she's just a little freaked out. I'd hate to see them both so unhappy for some stupid reason."

"I know what you mean, Mia. I'll see what I can do."

"Great. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it."

"No sweat. I'll try my best. Take care, Mia."

---

Lara groaned and hung her head as the little bell above the door jingled for the millionth time that day. She'd been convinced, yet again, that it had been Leon.

With a mournful sigh, she reached for the fresh pastry dough she'd made earlier that morning and began doling out generous spoonfuls of cinnamon-apple glaze for each diamond-shaped pastry.

_Oooh, why can't Leon just stop by like he used to_? Lara agonized, hands never ceasing their movements. _Hmm, let me think: because you told him you were through, you dingbat?!_

Blinking back the onslaught of tears she could feel welling in the corners of her eyes, Lara paused a moment in her ministrations to wipe her eyes before continuing to roll and shape the dough.

She didn't know why she was torturing herself over this. It had been her decision to break up with Leon. She was the one who'd sought him out and broken up with him, so she had no one to blame but herself.

Still...she couldn't seem to refrain from thinking about him. Her every thought throughout the course of her day was filled with him. His smile, his kiss, the feel of his hands, his beautiful eyes, the way he was so gentle with her... She couldn't deny that she loved him. She always had; knew she always would. But when she thought of their future together, all she saw was round after round of petty bickering matches where the blamed one another for not being able to work through their differences.

There'd been a time when she cherished every moment they shared between them--every little kiss, every touch, every word spoken. But now, she just couldn't seem to get past minor, everyday annoyances. Things that were her own fault and that she blamed him for.

If she was honest with herself, she was still angry about the way in which things had gone sour between them so many years ago. They'd loved each other whole-heartedly. She'd given everything to him, including herself, but she'd had no choice when it came to leaving. She'd told Leon everything--all about her plans for school and going to live with her mom and grandmother for a while. She'd never held anything back.

A few months of living in New York had changed their relationship drastically. It was only going to be a few years and she'd planned to visit every summer, but it hadn't been enough. As much as they'd tried to work things out, they'd grown apart. Distance had seen to that. And on some level, Lara knew Leon still blamed her for leaving, just as she still blamed him for letting her go...

With a firm resoluteness, Lara pounded the dough a little harder than necessary and scooped a spoonful of apple filling onto the pastry, succeeding in splattering both herself and the counter around her.

She was going to make things right. Maybe the reason why things hadn't been feeling _right_ wasn't because they weren't meant to be together, but because they hadn't cleared away all that left-over emotional baggage. How could they start fresh when all that old strife still lay between them?

Smiling for the first time in what felt like forever, Lara buckled down to finish making her goodies while all the while her mind worked out exactly what she'd say when she next saw Leon.

---

"CARE?! I'm hooome!" Lara hollered as she slammed the front door behind her, kicking off her shoes as she headed for the stairs. "You here, babe?!"

Walking down the hallway to her room, Lara stopped to peek her head into her friend's room to check if she was there. She was.

"Hey, didn't you hear me calling you?" Lara asked, pushing the door open wider and hopping onto her friend's bed alongside her.

"Oh, hey, sorry. I was just thinking about something. What's up?" Carrie replied. "Why so chipper?"

Lara shrugged her shoulders and shifted so she could wrap her arms around her knees. "Nothing big happened or anything, but I feel _enlightened_."

"Enlightened?" Carried returned skeptically. "And what brought on this feeling of _enlightenment_?"

Lara laughed cheerfully, her cheeks veritably glowing with utter happiness. "I think I finally understand why I've been acting like such a shmuck with Leon. I mean, I have the absolute sweetest, most amazing guy in the whole world, who is not only everything I've ever wanted in a man, but also happens to love me as much as I love him, and I go and screw it up.

"I tried so, _so_ hard, Care. I really did. But every time we were apart, I got to thinking about how things _should_ be or how they _shouldn't_ be and I never stopped to think about how they just _were_. We're different people. God, I've been saying it all along and it's like I never even knew what I was talking about. We're different. Yeah, so what? We've always been different. Leon loves cars. I couldn't care less about them. He got a job right out of high school and has a criminal record and I went to university and culinary school and am clean as a whistle. Gosh, and I'm rambling like an idiot, too. Leon never rambles! But that's good. That's what makes us _work_ and love each other like we do--_because_ we're different.

"Oh Goood, I really messed things up," Lara groaned, reaching out to her best friend for a hug. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sure he must hate me. God, they probably all do..."

Carrie stroked her friend's hair and remembered all the times they'd spent together just like this when they were younger. Either she or Lara mooning over some boy and whining about some stupid thing that had happened while the two of them sat comforting each other. Some things never changed. But looking at Lara now, she knew that some things _did_. Sure, they still acted like kids sometimes, but they were all grown up now. And as stupid as Lara'd been to allow a great guy like Leon to slip through her fingers, she had finally realized the error of her ways. Carrie just hoped that'd be enough to set things right between them once and for all. "So, what're you gonna do about all this, hun?"

Lara shook her head, her gray eyes filling with tears. "I dunno know, Care. I must've hurt him so bad. When I left before I know I broke his heart, and he had every right to be upset, but I had no choice. I _had_ to go."

Having heard this argument a hundred times before, Carrie sniffled and surreptitiously scratched the side of her nose. "You know...he's not the only one you left. I missed my best friend every day you were gone."

Lara felt the tears spill down her cheeks and pulled Carrie's slight body towards her, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss to her damp cheek. Gosh, she felt like a rotten bastard. She'd been so caught up in herself and her great romance that she'd barely even spared a moment's thought for the impact her leaving would have on her best friend. Some best friend she'd been. "Oh, Caryn... I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Wiping away her own tears and giggling at the absurdity of their little drama, Carrie sat up a bit so she could meet her friend's eyes. "Hey, hey, stop that, okay? I already forgave you a looong time ago. It just makes me a little sad when I think about it, but I know you had to go and I made peace with that. And all I know is that if Leon hasn't already done that, don't sweat it because I know he will. You're a great girl, Lara. You always have been. You're beautiful and funny and smart and any guy would be lucky to have you, and trust me, Leon knows this. If you could only put aside all the bad memories and feelings of guilt and doubt and just let the past be, I know you guys could be so happy together."

Lara sniffled and sent a watery smile in Carrie's direction, "Thanks, Care."

"Hey, what're best friends for? Now, just make sure you don't let him get away this time..."

"I'll do my best," Lara whispered, getting up to leave the room.

"Hey!" Carrie called. Lara turned half-way to the door. "There was this weird girl hanging around outside the house for like an hour today. And when I went to ask her what she wanted, she totally blew me off and walked off down the street. I don't know what that was all about, but just keep an eye open..."


	17. Chapter 17

_Many, many apologies for the long wait--stupid laptop broke **again**.But anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! Thank-you to those of you who reviewed! You made my day_ :)

**

* * *

****Chapter 17**

With Dominic and Letty's wedding day quickly approaching, time was absolutely flying by for Lara. And between work and helping her family get everything ready for the big day—and not to mention the fact that she'd willingly volunteered to help them get everything ready _and_ make the cake—Lara was finding herself strapped for time.

As such, she barely had a moment to herself, let alone any time to go see or talk with Leon. Not that he'd want to talk to her, anyway, she reminded herself. But once she'd made up her mind to give it one final go, she knew that doing anything less would be unacceptable.

So, she was prepared, once and for all, to give it a go. No holes barred. And if anything stopped them this time, then she'd have to accept, once and for all, that perhaps they just weren't meant to be.

Gently squeezing out a glob of thick, creamy vanilla icing, Lara twisted the tube and slowly turned the cake to frost the edges of the chocolate layers. _God, this looks good… I shouldn't have skipped lunch._

The sudden ringing of her cell phone startled Lara out of her intense concentration, making her fumble and drop the tube of icing to the floor with a heavy 'thunk'. _Crap._

Bending to pick up the fallen item, Lara snatched her phone up off the counter and flipped it open. "Hello?" she all but growled.

"Hi. Lara?"

Frozen in her crouched position, Lara's brows furrowed. _Who was this?_ "Yes…?"

"Lara, hi. It's Jim."

Straightening up, Lara leaned against the countertop, but couldn't seem to relax. Just hearing his voice again conjured up a whole slew of memories of New York...and her mother. "Hi, Jim." She didn't say any more than that; didn't know what else she could say to the man who would've been her step-father if fate hadn't intervened so cruelly in their once-perfect lives.

"I'm sorry to call you like this. I know we haven't spoken in quite some time, but I have some news that I thought you should know about," Jim offered in explanation.

When no answer greeted him, he took that as a go-ahead: "News has just been released that your father is out of prison. His lawyer managed to negotiate a plea bargain of 'not guilty' and the state prosecution could find no evidence to hold against him."

Lara almost fainted. She couldn't believe this. _No evidence?_ "But— but the fingerprints, footprints, the gun…anything. Didn't the police _have_ evidence?"

"Nothing that matched your father's DNA," Jim responded, matter-of-factly.

"How—how is that possible?" Lara stuttered, reaching for her stool and sinking down onto it. She let her head flop back against the wall and tried to calm her breathing, but her chest hurt too much._ Would her father find her here? Was he even now looking for her?_

"I'm not sure," Jim answered. "All I know is that the fingerprints on the door, the gun…nothing matched his."

"So, he's out," Lara dead-panned.

"He's out."

---

The morning of the wedding dawned clear and bright and the Toretto house was filled with a flurry of activity.

Dominic and Letty had decided that they didn't want to make a big to-do of their "big day", opting, instead, for a small backyard ceremony with just a few of their closest friends and family members present. But as often happens in real life, things were running a little behind schedule.

The backyard was tastefully decorated, and tables and chairs had all been set up days ago, but inside, the house was a mess. Pizza boxes, cartons of half-eaten Chinese food and empty beer bottles littered the living room floor and coffee table. The boys had had quite the wild night after Ava had been put to bed. Bitch poker—a game Jesse had invented that entailed becoming the winner's "bitch" for every hand lost. Sadly, the game hadn't worked out the way Jess'd planned. He'd been first Frank's and later Vince's beer bitch—, booze, and a variety of other unmentionables had all played a role. But it had been a fun and rather _unforgettable_ night.

Life was looking a little brighter as the morning sun rose over the Hollywood hills. The living room had cleaned up pretty well—and what they couldn't clean, they hid. However, the caterers hired to deliver the food had called to say that the wedding lunch would be delivered a tad late due to some minor issues with the kitchen staff. "Nothing to be worried over," the coordinator had assured Dom. But Dom worried.

Letty had spent the night at Mia's house, thinking it would be fun to go along with the whole "bad luck to see each other before the wedding" thing, and now Dom was finding himself in a bit of a pickle. Give him a car and he could fix almost anything, but he just didn't know how to deal with these people.

"How much later are we talking?" he rumbled, trying desperately to tamp down the panic he could feel creeping up on him.

"Oh, no later than one-thirty or so," the woman on the other end reassured him.

"One!—One-thirty?? We asked to have it delivered before noon! What are we supposed to feed our guests?!"

Suddenly, the coordinator's voice shifted from comforting to stiff and business-like. "Sir, we are doing the best we can…mindful of our situation. I'm sorry for the delay, but the food will be there as soon as possible. Now, in the interest of speeding up the process, I'm going to have to say goodbye now. Again, I apologize, and we'll see you shortly this afternoon."

And just like that, Dom was left listening to a dial-tone. Ugh, people.

---

"Papi?"

Turning to see his baby girl poke her head into the bathroom, Dominic grinned and waved her inside before rinsing his razor and returning it to his cheek. "What's up, small-fry?"

"Nuffin'…just need help putting my panney-hose on."

"Okay. Just give me a sec. here, Ave. I gotta finish shaving and then I'll come help you."

"Okay," Ava agreed.

Staring intently into the mirror to make certain he wouldn't knick himself, Dominic listened to the sounds of scrambling and pitter-pattering feet and couldn't help but grin when Ava's reflection suddenly appeared beside his in the mirror.

"Why do you have to shave if you don't even have _heah_?" she asked curiously, watching every deft stroke he made with obvious fascination.

"Well, why do you think I don't have any hair?" he countered with a raised eyebrow and a tiny smirk curving one side of his lips.

"Oooh," Ava murmured, as understanding dawned.

The bathroom was silent again, except for the sounds of the razor scraping Dom's skin.

"There," he declared, rinsing the blade again before putting it away in the medicine cabinet. "All done. Now, let's go see if we can do something about those panty-hose, okay?"

"Okay," Ava chimed happily as her father slid his hands beneath her arms and lifted her off of the toilet, setting her down on the floor and taking her hand to lead her out of the room.

"Papi?"

Dom just shook his head and smiled. Since the day his little girl had spoken her first words, she'd been his little motor-mouth. "Mhm?"

"I know you and mami said I'm gonna be the flowah guhl in the wed-ding…"

"Uh huh…"

"But I was wonduhwing: can I be yoh best man, instead?"


	18. Chapter 18

_Hey guys, sorry the wait's been so long, but I've been utterly tapped and a little stuck. Plus my laptop's STILL being repaired grr… Anywho, without further ado, here's:

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_

**Chapter 18**

The sun was out in full force later that morning, shining down on all of LA, and baking the black, vinyl seats of Lara's '96 Totoya Tercel.

"Shiiit," she muttered, opening the back door to let some of the heat escape before she brought the cake out. The last thing she needed was for the icing to melt and for the cake to droop and stoop after how hard she'd worked on it.

Made of the creamiest, most decadent, royal chocolate fudge she could find, the cake was a vision. Three tiers. Three layers—each separated by a thin spread of her deliciously smooth and sweet hazelnut-custard filling. The outside of the cake was coated in thick, French-vanilla icing and adorned with edible, pale yellow sugar-roses.

It didn't look half-bad, if she did say so herself. Every spare moment not spent working at the bakery, had been spent working on this cake. And boy was she tired.

"Lar! You ready for the cake yet?" Carrie shouted from the front door. "I'm gonna miss the rest of _Gilmore_ if you don't hurry your butt up! Lorelai just broke up with Luke, man! I can't miss the rest. Come oooooon!"

Laughing, Lara cranked the rear windows down and slammed the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

"Ok, well just hurry! I think Lor just went to Christopher's house or something. Oh god—this can only end badly…"

"Isn't that a rerun?!" Lara shouted back across the street, starting to cross just as a midnight blue Miata whizzed past her.

"Holy Sh--watch out, girl! That fuckin' car almost hit you!"

Lara leaned back against her car as Carrie raced across the street towards her. "Are you okay?!" Carrie shouted, worriedly grabbing her friend's shoulders and shaking her lightly. Lara nodded mutely, staring off after the car.

The girl driving that car had looked vaguely familiar to Lara, but she couldn't place her. Where had she seen her before?

Oh my god, don't scare me like that. Geez…" Carrie whispered, "Give a girl a frickin' heart-attack, why doncha? Now, come on—let's go get the cake or you're gonna be late for the wedding, hun."

---

Sprawled out on the couch in the Toretto's living room, Leon sat, feet propped up on the coffee table, eyes half-closed and bloodshot as he stared blankly at the television screen. The Lakers were playing the Sixers and winning by a good twenty points, but they might as well have been losing for all the attention he paid the game.

The late night and early morning had done a number on him, but if truth be told: he hadn't been in all that great a mood before then either.

Ever since Lara had left him, he hadn't been able to keep his mind off her for more than a few moments at a time. He'd tried to take a load off; gone out a couple times with the guys, but inevitably, his thoughts always came back to her.

Leon swallowed hard, remembering the last time he'd seen her:

_Following her out into the bright sunlight, Leon squinted as he turned towards his girlfriend. _

"_So, what's up?" he asked, reaching up a grease-stained hand to shield his eyes from the sun's harsh rays._

_Lara smiled wanly at him and he felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. _What was going on?

"_Leon," she started. She didn't continue, but instead glanced down at her feet for a brief moment. _

_Wiping the grease off his hands, Leon gently cupped Lara's chin and turned her face towards his. _

"_What's wrong, baby?" he murmured worriedly, cradling her jaw in his large palm and seeking her gaze. He paused when her grey eyes finally met his. Glassy and curiously wet, she looked as if she was trying very hard to keep the tears at bay._

"_I can't do this," she whispered._

_The sickening, twisting feeling in his gut refused to abate. "Do what?" he cautioned, his eyes still searching hers, looking for any explanation as to what was going on._

"_This. Us," she clarified, gesturing wildly between them as her emotions overtook her. She stepped away from him and watched the way his hand dropped limply to his side._

_Lara closed her eyes to block out the image of him standing there before her, green eyes wide with shock and hurt. The tears she'd been desperately trying to hold in slowly began to leak out beneath her lids, making slow, wet trails down her cheeks. _

_She licked her lips, tasting the salt of her tears, as she forced her eyes open to stare back at the person she cared for more than anything else in the world. _Then why are you hurting him?_ a part of her whispered. _

"_What do you mean 'us'? What about 'us'? Why can't you do this?" he prompted, his eyes, usually so soft and expressive, were hard now, closed off. Because of her. She'd done this to him. _

"_Things just get screwed up so easily between us, Le. It's like we don't even have to try—there's always someone or something waiting to push us apart. And, I don't know, maybe it happens for a reason—" _

"_Things happen, girl. That's life—things happen. We just gotta deal with it, that's all, babe. And we can. I know we can."_

"_We aren't the same people anymore, Leon. I've changed; you've changed. Our lives are too different, now," she argued, begging him to see it from her point of view. "We're too different, now. We just—"_

"_No. No, Lara," Leon interrupted. "Don't give me that 'we're different bull 'cause it don't float, a'ight? If you don't wanna be with me, then just go. Don't waste your breath explaning." _

Leon groaned and let his head fall back against the edge of the couch. He felt raw inside, torn up from the pain and guilt of just letting her walk away from him. He wanted to fight with her, for her, convince her that they _were_ meant to be together, but he couldn't do that if it wasn't what she wanted. She'd have to fight for them, too.

"Yo, Le! Look alive, man!" Dom joked, striding into the room and playfully knocking his friend's feet off the coffee table.

Leon nearly jumped. "Hey, sup dawg? I was just watching the game…"

Dominic nodded knowingly, looking between man and television set, "Yeah. Yeah, I can see that. Mhm."

When Leon remained silent, feigning an avid interest in the game, Dom dropped down onto the couch beside him and stared at the big screen, too. "Look man, you can't just sit around here moping and shit. You gotta get up and move around and crap."

"I'm not mopin'," Leon growled.

"Alright, whatever man," Dom relented. "Let's just get movin', though, 'cause we're gonna start soon and Letty'll take my head off if she's out there before me. And you know she could do it, too," Dom reasoned, flicking off the television.

Feeling a lot better than he had all morning, Leon just laughed and made to follow the groom out of the room. He'd convince Lara to give them another chance, but right now he had a wedding to go to.


	19. Chapter 19

_To help you guys visualize this a bit, I made some stuff--also because I'm a fangeek like that lol. So take a look on my profile page for the links, if you're interested...hopefully they'll be there..._

_Without further ado, I present to you:

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_

**Chapter 19**

"Friends, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of this man and this woman…"

Lara smiled contentedly as she watched the minister proceed with the ceremony. She was incredibly happy for her cousin and friend, but as much as she wanted to, she just couldn't seem to concentrate. She kept imagining that it was her and Leon up there, that it was their special day and that he was looking down at her so lovingly and promising, in front of all of their friends and family, to always love and care for her as she would him.

Sighing softly, Lara wished she was braver. She wished she'd talked about her concerns and told Leon how she'd felt instead of breaking up with him. God, she felt so stupid and…ungrateful. Here was this great, amazing guy who loved her and whom she loved…and she'd as good as thrown him away. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much she'd hurt him. And now, they were in this fucked up mess and she had no idea how to rectify their relationship, or if he'd even want to. So, here she sat. Leon was sitting a mere three seats away from her and she had never felt more ill-at-ease.

Raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, Lara tried to steady her breathing and refocus her attention on the ceremony, but to no avail.

Unconsciously tuning the minister out, she glanced around at the Toretto's backyard. Who knew it could clean up so well, she thought as her gaze swept slowly over her surroundings.

The yard had been white-washed with soft, white linen hangings draped over a large, make-shift wall to cover the driveway and neighbouring house. Free of the old, rusty barbecue and the bulky picnic table, the lawn had been freshly-mowed and was now a lush, vibrant, healthy green. White and cream-coloured table cloths and chair covers and an abundance of flowers decorated the small space, giving the yard an air of simple elegance. And after much insistence on Ava's part, her parents had finally relented and bought a few helium balloons to bundle up and place around the yard. All in all, it looked beautiful.

Sighing softly, Lara leaned back in her seat and casually glanced to her left. Leon seemed to be doing his darnedest to pay attention, but seemed to be having as hard a time as she. She stared at him quietly for a few moments.

His light brown hair was slicked back away from his forehead in its usual style, but it looked especially good today, she reflected. He wore a pair of simple, wire-rimmed spectacles and she recalled how handsome he'd looked all dressed up and GQ.

As if feeling her eyes on him, Leon turned slightly in her direction and Lara quickly straightened up in her seat and faced forward again. _God, he probably thinks I'm_ a freak.

Unconsciously fanning her flushed face, Lara swallowed hard around the huge lump in her throat and pressed a cool hand to the over-heated flesh on her cheeks. After all these years, just one look from him could still make her feel like she was the only one. She knew, though, that she'd ruined their relationship, perhaps irreparably. She'd crowded in feelings of doubt and insecurity and had been untrusting of the very real emotions she'd felt for him. She realized them for what they were, even if it was too late now.

Sighing softly, she attempted to put aside her own problems for the time being and just focus on her family's special day.

Dom and Letty looked absolutely stunning standing together in front of the minister.

Clad in a pristine, cream-coloured shirt and black slacks, Dominic was clean-shaven and looking sharp next to his soon-to-be wife.

Letty, for her part, was radiant. Dressed in a fitted, satin gown with a corset-style bodice, which flowed mid-way down the length of her calf, the pale cream material contrasted beautifully against her golden brown skin.

"Do you Leticia Montoya Chavez take Dominic Lee Toretto to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And do you Dominic Lee Toretto take Leticia Montoya Chavez to be—"

"I do…too—or also, I guess."

Letty playfully smacked her newly-ordained husband upside the head as he chuckled warmly and captured her hand in his own. Their friends and family laughed delightedly.

"Then by the powers vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride, Dominic."

Taking his cue from the minister, Dom pulled Letty into his arms and held her warm body closer to his. "Have I told you yet how absolutely spectacular you look in that dress, Mrs. Toretto?"

Returning his smirk as the deep rumble of his voice shuddered through her, Letty shivered in pleasure, "Well, actually Mr. Toretto, I believe you _did_ mention something along those lines."

Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, Dom grinned widely, "Well, I meant it. How do I look?"

"Oh my god—just kiss already!" This from a lunch-hungry Vince who sat scowling at the couple. A resounding smack sounded throughout the yard and everyone turned to see an annoyed Mia sitting with arms crossed over top her bulging belly…and a contrite Vince sitting next to her.

Laughing wickedly, Letty looked up into her husband's dark eyes and reached up to gently cradle his head in her hands. Nothing could spoil this day. She had an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, and… Smiling softly, she decided to take Vince's advice and pressed a slow, tender kiss to her husband's lips. "Love you, Daddy," she whispered softly before leaning in for another kiss.

"Daddy?"

"Woot! Congrats, congrats! Now, where's lunch? I'm starvin'. Ow! Mia…"

---

Lunch was just wrapping up as Lara disappeared into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on her present to Dom and Letty.

Despite the festive atmosphere of loud music, fun, and laughter, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up the pretense of cheeriness when Lara felt so miserable inside. She and Leon hadn't spoken a single word to each other all day and, despite her resolve to make things work, she wasn't exactly sure that he even wanted her anymore. Her depression might've been easier to bear if she hadn't noticed Mia's beady little matchmaker eyes constantly glancing between her and Leon all afternoon, scrutinizing their every move. She'd have to talk to him after everyone left if she wanted to avoid Gossip Central.

Sighing deeply, Lara set to work on the cake—re-frosting the edges and fixing up some of the delicate sugar-blossoms that had gotten smushed on the way over in her car.

"Wow, that looks great Lara. Did you really make that whole thing yourself?"

Lara turned from her task to see Jesse standing behind her, eyes wide and openly admiring the cake.

"Yep," she said, smiling proudly.

Jesse licked his lips, his baby blue eyes twinkling cheerily. "Man, I can't wait to try it. Are you bringing it out soon?"

"In a bit, yeah," Lara replied as she added another dab of icing to one of the edges. She offered her friend a teasing smile and poked his stomach lightly. "Didn't you just fill up on lunch though, Jess?"

"Well, yeah, but there's always room for cake, right?" he grinned, flashing that adorable boyish charm of his.

Lara just laughed and playfully pushed him out of the room, "Yeah, yeah. You go and wait like everybody else."

"I concede defeat...for now, anyway. Don't think this is over, missy," he ribbed back with a wide grin before heading back outside.

Shaking her head in amusement, Lara felt her spirits lift and she smiled happily as she set back to work.

Hearing footsteps echoing in the hallway outside the kitchen, Lara chuckled, shaking her head again. "I already told ya you'll have to wait, Jess."

Silence greeted her and then…

"I' looks good."

Lara's hands stilled.

Blood rushing loudly in her ears, she turned to see Leon standing casually in the doorway, green eyes focused on her. Her heart thumped hard against her breastbone and her palms began to sweat. God, why was she so nervous? It was just Leon. Leon who'd seen her naked, been with her, loved her, knew all of her faults, but loved her anyway. It was just Leon…who knew her inside and out, and hands down better than anyone else. Leon, whom she'd never stopped loving and knew she never would. Having finally admitted her feelings to herself, Lara felt her fear drain away, leaving only the certainty that she needed to tell him exactly how she felt or risk losing him forever.

"Leon, I—"

"Uh uh." Shaking his head, Leon walked further into the room, stopping two feet away from her. "We need to talk."

"I know," Lara affirmed, nodding as she moved closer to him. "I want to apologize for the way I acted before. I didn't mean to just drop you like that. You—"

Pausing as Leon reached out to take one of her hands in his, Lara glanced down at their interlaced fingers before again meeting those beautiful green eyes she'd dreamed of so often.

"Shh, baby," he murmured comfortingly. "We'll talk about this a little later, okay?"

In explanation, he glanced pointedly out the window and Lara followed his gaze. Mia was seated at the table next to her husband and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the plate of seafood set out before her. It was obvious, though, just where her attention was _really_ focused. Lara couldn't help but smile. Snoop she may be, but Mia always had her friends' and family's best interests at heart.

"Gotcha. I guess we'll talk a little later, then?" Lara asked, meeting Leon's eyes once more.

He nodded and gently squeezed her hand before releasing it and turning towards the door. "Meet me on the driveway after the party winds down."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The sun had long since set as Leon's yellow skyline pulled up outside of his apartment building on Fifth.

Promising to meet him here within the hour, Lara had quickly gone home to change and so, turning the engine off, Leon settled back in his seat to wait for her.

He wondered for the hundredth time if he was crazy for doing this, for welcoming her back into his life again when she'd broken him so many times before. But a part of him told him to just fuck it all and go with it. He knew the risks, had taken them before and he would continue to take them again and again because he loved her and he wasn't ready to let go of her yet.

When Lara's little white car rolled to a stop across the street, he combed his fingers quickly through his hair, adjusted the heavy chain around his neck, and got out to meet her.

"Hey."

"Hey." Her soft grey eyes met his and she offered him a tentative smile.

Smiling back, Leon reached out a hand to her and felt a peculiar warmth spread inside his chest as she clasped it strongly. "Wanna come up?"

---

"Thanks for letting me come over. I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk before the night was through," Lara started, following Leon's lead and seating herself on the couch beside him.

She looked around at his apartment, noting the little changes he'd made since she'd been there last.

He watched as she sat a safe distance away from him and fought the urge to reach out and pull her closer to him. "It woulda been kinda awkward what with Mia keepin' tabs on us all day..."

"Yeah, it would've been..." she agreed, laughing lightly and turning to smile up at him as their eyes met again. Her breath caught in her throat at the soft, searching look in those piercing green eyes of his and she moved quickly to stand and put some distance between them.

As she wandered over to the window, she caught herself in motion and wondered at her own behaviour. All she wanted was to be with him, to be close to him...and yet, she was always moving away.

Noticing the air of concern and confusion surrounding Leon, Lara blushed, her cheeks flaming hotly as realization dawned on her--not ten minutes in and she was already reneging on her promise to herself.

Sending him a sheepish glance as she returned to the couch, she resumed her seat beside him and sat wondering all the while at the thoughts that must be going through his mind. He hadn't spoken very much since they'd come inside, but then again, neither had she, she reminded herself.

"I'm glad you asked me over here tonight," she began. "This past week I've spent so much time sorting through my thoughts and trying to make sense of... well, everything, I guess," she told him. She smiled uncertainly, her stifled breath shuddering slowly out of her as Leon shifted closer to her and took her hands in his. Lacing their fingers together, he tenderly stroked his thumb across the sensitive skin of her palm and Lara sucked in a quick breath, strengthening her resolve to finish what she'd started. But she didn't pull away from him.

"I'm sorry." The raw emotion in her tone was palpable, conveyed to him in the whispered plea of the words, and Leon could see the guilt and sorrow reflected clearly in her sad, gray eyes as she pressed onward. "I was an idiot. I was scared and stupid and I thought that all that tension we were wading in was impossible to work through. I thought that it was impossible to face our past and present and the future head-on and still come out fresh and whole and...together, but I don't think it's so impossible any more. Because when I'm not with you, I feel empty inside, like there's this great chasm that's swallowed me up and I just fall and fall and there's never any end to it. But then, when I'm with you, it's like I'm standing on solid ground and I know that anything's possible because we love each other... I know that sounds corny, but it's true."

Leon remained quiet, allowing her the opportunity to unload everything she'd suffocated inside of her. But even as he held her and listened to the turmoil she'd put herself through, them through... the tears were welling in his own eyes and he blinked them back hastily, willing himself to let her finish.

"I'm sorry, Leon. I am so, so sorry. Sometimes I just get so insecure when we have a little tiff and then I start wondering what you're thinking and if you're having second thoughts--"

"Just talk to me, baby," he interjected, gazing deeply into her shining gray eyes, bright with unshed tears. "I want you to talk ta me when you feel like that, ok? 'Cause I' never loved anyone as much as I love you, girl. From that first day you came slammin' into Dom's house I knew you were somethin' special and everythin' we been through, everythin' good, bad...I'll take it all 'cause I love you, Lara."

---

His tongue swept into her mouth, wet and hot and boldly stroking, stoking her inferno higher, making her hotter...

Her fingers gripped the cool, silken material of his shirt, twisting it, tearing at it...

He groaned her name--a harsh, guttural sound--as he tore his lips from hers, breathing harshly, breaths panting heatedly, feverishly against her slick, naked skin as he ripped his shirt off, heedless of the buttons that scattered everywhere.

As soon as the material left his body, her hands were on him again, caressing all the warm, smooth skin he'd just exposed, pressing herself closer to him, indulging in the exquisite pressure of his hot mouth against the delicate skin of her throat.

Soft, breathy sighs and groans of intense pleasure echoed throughout the room as his hands traced burning paths over her fevered flesh, relearning her curves, palming her heat, and alternately massaging her heated flesh and soothing her swollen lips with tender kisses.

Grasping her bottom gently with both hands, he hefted her high against him, pressing her body tightly to his and continuing his oral assault as he laid her back on his bed and followed her down...


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Muted, early morning rays of sunlight filtered in through blinds drawn half shut. Soft, warm, yellowy-orange fingers of light stretched out across the room, caressed the couple lying curled up together amidst a tangle of sheets, limbs intertwined, chests rising and falling in the slow, cadence of sleep.

They came awake by slow degrees as the day dawned warm and bright, both content just to lie there, content in the knowledge that the other was not far off.

They lay dozing, drifting in and out of sleep, eyelids fluttering open and closed, revelling in the other's nearness, the feelings of soft, warm kisses…soft, warm skin…

---

_Dominic and Leon were sitting on the couch watching Jesse kick Vince's ass at the latest racing game when the front door swung open and three girls hurried inside the house, playfully pushing each other up the stairs and giggling all the way. _

_Leon watched them go, curious. He'd already met Dom's sister, Mia, and his girlfriend, Letty, but he'd never seen the girl in the middle before. "Hey dawg, who was that girl with Mia and Letty?"_

_Not taking his eyes off of the game, Dom jerked his thumb in the direction of the stairs behind them, "Uh...short girl, dark hair, bluish eyes?" _

_Smirking to himself, Leon nodded, "Think so, yeah." _

_"That's Lara. My cousin." _

_"Oh." An awkward silence filled the space between the two men and Leon turned back to the TV, rubbing his suddenly-clammy palms against his jeans nervously. _

_Dom was a good guy. He'd proved that time and again and Leon had only known him for a couple of weeks. For instance, how many guys would just let you move into their house hardly knowin' you? Exactly. So, Dom was a really cool guy, yeah, but the one thing Leon had learned, if anything, was that Dom was very, _very_ protective of what was his. Hell, he'd share the house, the garage, his time…but his cars, Letty, his sister--he'd made it perfectly clear that they were _not_ to be messed with. _

_Shit, when they'd all gone to the beach a couple of days ago, Dom had caught Vince ogling Mia when she'd lain down on her towel to sunbathe, clad only in a bikini and a pair of sunglasses. Hell, he'd even offered to rub some lotion _on_ her, the dumb fuck. Hearing this, Dom had promptly smacked him upside the head and dragged him away from her. And Vince was his best friend…since the third grade and everything...shit...  
_

_Dom glanced over at Leon, watching the younger man's inner struggle and wondering at the way his expression shifted from pensive to worrisome. He chuckled silently, curious about what was getting him so riled up. "You ok, man?"_

_Leon blinked, his green eyes widening slightly before focusing on the TV once more. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm good."_

_Deciding to have a little fun with him, Dom furrowed his brows, his dark eyes slanting a suspicious glance in his friend's direction, "Why d'you wanna know who she is? You interested or something?"_

_That stare made Leon more than a little nervous and he shook his head nonchalantly, "Nah, nah, dawg. Just wonderin' is all. And trynna figure out who everybody is and stuff, ya know?" _

_Suddenly Dominic burst out into loud laughter, slinging a heavily-muscled arm around Leon's shoulders, and giving him a playful squeeze as mirthful tears leaked from the corners of his dark eyes, "Shit man, lighten up. I'm just playin' wit ya." _

_Leon paled slightly, before chuckling in spite of himself. Maybe he'd have a chance after all..._

---

The soft sound of a door clicking shut startled Leon awake.

Unaware of exactly what had awakened him, he huffed out a sleepy breath and snuggled his face deeper into his pillow, enjoying the warmth of his makeshift cocoon for a moment before cracking an eye open to glance at the clock.

_7:32a.m._

Yawning widely as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, Leon lay quietly dozing as the events of the previous day _and night _slowly began to resurface in his mind. Bolting upright, gaze darting from corner to corner only to find the room empty, Leon was just about to leap out of bed when he heard the toilet flush.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he lay back against the pillows and smiled. The panic he'd just experienced had nearly consumed him, briskly returning him to that morning so many years ago when he'd awakened to find her gone.

_He rolled over sleepily and reached an arm out for Lara. Feeling nothing but smooth, cool cotton against his fingertips, he opened his eyes and glanced around the room, pausing momentarily as an odd crinkling sound filled the room. Yanking a piece of paper out from underneath his shoulder, Leon yawned as he began to read:_

_-_

_Leon, _

_I'm sorry things haven't been so great between us this past week; I wish we could've had more fun and just enjoyed __the rest of our time together, but I guess things don't always work out the way you want them to. _

_I just want to tell you that I'm sorry for doing this this way, but I couldn't sleep. And while I was lying here watching you, with your face mashed into the pillow and your beautiful eyes closed in sleep, I just _knew_ that, if I waited any longer, I'd end up staying, even if you didn't ask me again. Because I love you. And I do. So, so much. I think I probably always will…_

_But I always intended to go to NY—my mom and my grandma are there…and then there's culinary school, my dream. And while you make it so, so hard for me to leave, it's just something I know I have to stick with. _

_So, I'll call when I get there and, if you're ever in the area, come and visit me..._

_Love always,_

_Lara_

_-_

_"I guess I thought I could convince you ta stay..."_

The soft slap-slap of bare feet padding across the hardwood floor of the apartment snapped Leon out of his reverie, and he turned to see Lara tiptoe back into the room and quietly shut the door behind her.

"Hey," he murmured into the hushed silence, watching as she turned towards him with a surprised smile, a tender warmth illuminating her gray eyes.

"Hey," she whispered back, fingering the hem of the long, button-down shirt she wore. His shirt.

Lounging back against the pillows, Leon patted the empty spaces on either side of his body and offered Lara a sexy, lop-sided smirk that she felt all the way down in her toes.

"Come on, baby...lie down with me," he growled, his low, raspy voice sending a torrent of heat surging through her, desire pooling low in her belly.

Smiling inwardly at how cute, and at the same time incredibly delicious, he looked just lying there, waiting for her, Lara pulled his shirt over her head and grinned. Swinging it around seductively on her finger before flinging it at him, she giggled softly when it landed squarely on his face, blocking his view of her.

Plucking the shirt away from his face, Leon tossed it aside and sat up, ready to give chase, but he stopped short as Lara lowered herself onto the foot of the bed.

Crawling up the length of his body, her glittering eyes focused on his, he inhaled sharply as she pressed a warm kiss to his lips and pushed him back onto the bed, following him down.

---

Lara sighed happily, basking in the warmth of Leon's embrace as she lay curled up against his warm body, her fingers tracing invisible patterns across his heated flesh.

They'd made love again. And, as she always was each time they did, she was reminded of how utterly perfect this man was. He was always so gentle with her, so loving, and yet so incredibly passionate and just…amazing. Just as he was in all other aspects of his life. She smiled, a pleasurable warmth swelling within her heart, as she realized that they'd been given a chance to make amends once and for all, and by god, she was gonna take it.

Dropping a warm kiss onto the gentle slope of her shoulder, he smiled lazily as he stroked the swell of her bottom with one hand, the other cradling her head against him as he gently combed his fingers through her hair.

"It's so long," he murmured softly, admiring the long, dark waves lying haphazardly against her silken skin, "you always kept it short before… I like it."

Content, Lara raised her head to kiss him soundly before settling herself back against him, luxuriating in the feel of his rough, calloused fingers alternately rubbing soothing circles against her shoulder and moving gently through her hair as she drifted off to sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

_Ohhhh guys, I'm SO sorry for the incredibly long wait. I thought I'd have this chapter up within a week of the last one, for sure, but it didn't feel like coming out. I'm sorry. I hope the wait was worth it and let me know if you're liking it so far. Enjoy!_

**

* * *

****Chapter 22**

Lara's eyes opened slowly, registering a white haze of fluff, big and soft, its fluffy form completely clouding her vision. Huffing softly as she realized that her face was mashed into her pillow and that she probably had pillow creases all over it now, she first rolled over onto her side, and then flopped back amidst the down with a heavy sigh.

Eyes closing in pleasure, she stretched languorously as she stared up at a dark spot on the ceiling, unable to keep the smile from her face. The slow heat of the morning sun had flooded the room, but the sheets were cool against her hot skin. Her eyelids fluttered open as her fingers slid over the still-warm place beside her.

Glancing around the empty room, she wondered when Leon had gotten up, but made no move to follow him, opting, instead, to lounge around for a while before getting up herself.

From amidst her haven, Lara perused the room at her leisure. The walls, painted the classic, neutral white, were plain and undecorated, the room sparsely furnished with a few essentials—a dresser, a bureau, and two nightstands flanking either side of the bed. Snapshots of various models of cars crowded the edges of the dresser mirror, and a plain, black box filled with cologne bottles and jewellery sat atop the bureau.

Clothes lay scattered across the floor, a muddled mess of both hers and his clothing. She blushed, remembering the night they'd had, and caught herself as her gaze alighted upon a folded up piece of what looked like a photo lay partially open upon the nightstand to her left.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she reached over to pick it up and unfolded it carefully, smoothing the crease down the middle and peering carefully at the image.

A picture of her and Leon lying upon the beach together stared up at her. A picture taken so many years ago. They're both tanned and smiling happily, arms wrapped tightly around one another and oblivious to the photographer in their happiness.

Lara smiled fondly, remembering that day as if it were only yesterday and not what often seemed like half a lifetime ago. Things had definitely changed since then, but she was certain that their relationship was better for those changes because they didn't live in a naïve little world anymore. Both now knew that, in spite of the hardships they'd faced in the past and would continue to face, they would take whatever came their way and work through them. Because ultimately, when it came down to it, overcoming those obstacles and challenges meant the difference between being apart and being together.

Setting the picture back upon the nightstand, Lara smiled, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. She wouldn't give up this time; as long as Leon loved her and wanted to be with her, she wouldn't give up on them.

Hearing a noise out in the hallway, Lara paused mid-resolution. Were those voices?

Really hoping Jess hadn't gotten in late last night, just in time to listen to their marathon…uh… Was that a woman's voice?

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Lara padded softly over to the bedroom door and peered out through the crack to see Leon standing at the door talking to someone.

Pushing the door open just a little bit wider, Lara strained her neck to the left, curious as to who would be coming by at such an early—err, early-ish, she amended glancing back at the alarm clock on the nightstand—hour.

A shock of curly, red hair appears over the top of Leon's shoulder, which is currently obscuring the woman's face from view, but it is enough to twist Lara's stomach into knots. She could've sworn she'd seen hair just like that before…

Shifting forward in an attempt to crowd the girl back out into the corridor, Leon lowered his arm from its propped position against the doorframe and reached back to grasp the door handle.

Starting as the woman's face is revealed, Lara stood rooted in her place, unable to move for fear of being noticed. It was the same girl from the bakery that day Leon had come by to pick her up for lunch. The one who'd been standing outside her house... The one who'd almost run her over yesterday.

"Why can't I come in?" Lara could hear the woman asking, her voice rising in pitch and anger with each word. "What, you got your little _tramp_ over?"

"Tori! Fuck, I already told you fifty friggin' times—it was _one_ damn night. And it was _seven_ months ago! I'm sorry it ever happened, but I ain't a time traveler and I can't take it back, so just move on, a'ight? Jesus Christ… Now, for the last time, get the fuck out of my apartment building before I fuckin' kick you out and stay the fuck away from me and my girl!"

"Oh, looks like she's awake—"

Spinning around to see Lara standing in his bedroom doorway watching them, the expression in her familiar gray eyes unreadable, Leon froze in, waiting for a reaction. Something, anything that would tell him how much she'd heard, where they stood. If they were still standing at all…

Biting her lip, Lara looked away suddenly, breaking eye-contact with him and stumbling back into the bedroom, pulling the door shut after her.

"Oooh little princess don't like to share her man, I see."

Without even the courtesy of a reply, Leon promptly slammed the door in Tori's face and slid the bolt into place before striding across the living room, littered with evidence and reminders of their desire, to his bedroom.

---

Stumbling back into the room, Lara quietly closed the door behind her and sank heavily down onto the bed, her mind a jumble of confusing thoughts and feelings. Images of that red-haired woman at the bakery, her home, and now here…her and Leon, together.

She hadn't expected him to wait for her when she left. She'd hoped he would, of course, irrational and selfish as that sounded, but she'd never thought that he would live like a monk after they broke up. After all, she hadn't even been all together too sure when or even _if_ she'd be coming back to L.A. once she finished school. But she'd never pegged Leon for a cheater, had never imagined that he'd tell her he loved her and have something going on the side.

Closing her eyes as tears began to cloud her vision, she drew in a shaky breath as they streamed in burning paths down the sides of her face, adding to the feelings of shame welling up within her. She was so embarrassed. He was a good looking guy; of course he had a girlfriend. She was just a piece on the side…

As soon as those words crossed her mind, she caught herself mid-thought and sat up straight. What was she saying? Had she even taken anything he'd said to the woman into account? They'd been together for only one night seven months ago. It wasn't his fault if the woman was obsessed with him, was it? _Well, maybe_, Lara thought, allowing herself a small smile, _he is pretty unforgettable._ She shook her head and steered herself away from the path those thoughts were taking her down.

_All these times I always thought the worst of him, _she reasoned._ I always thought he wouldn't be there for me, or that he wasn't ready for a commitment. But it's me; it's been me all along…I just need to trust him. He loves me, he's never intentionally done anything to hurt me…and he wouldn't be starting now. Would he?_

---

Leon braced himself for an all-out screaming match or worse as he slowly and cautiously opened the door to his bedroom and stepped inside.

Lara was sitting on the corner of the bed, her hands cradled in her lap and her tear-stained face looking up at him so forlornly with those big, sad grey eyes of hers, a shimmer of tears making them sparkle prettily despite her obvious misery.

Gingerly sitting down on the bed beside her, Leon reached for one of her hands, cradling it in his. "Sorry 'bout that back there. I swear, that girl's crazy; she means absolutely nothing to me, baby."

When Lara didn't respond, Leon shifted nervously, not knowing what to say to fix the situation. "So," he started, nudging her gently with his shoulder and cracking a small, but genuine smile, "where were we?"

Gently pushing him to the side, Lara stood up and began rooting around for her clothes on the floor. "I think I oughta get going, Le."

"What? Where? Why?" Leon demanded, hurriedly jumping to his feet to block her progress towards the door.

"I've just gotta do some thinking. And Carrie's probably wondering where I am…"

"Bullshit," Leon growled, feeling suddenly confused and angry all over again. "Is this how it's always gonna be between us?"

Closing her eyes, Lara twisted her discarded shirt between her fingers, wondering why things always got so screwed up between them and wishing they could be simpler.

"Huh?" Leon pressed, feeling the desperation begin to rise at his girlfriend's lack of response. "Is it? Every time we get together you gonna just up and run?"

Sighing mournfully, Lara swiped angrily at the tears that continued to seep out of her closed lids. "I'm sorry, ok! I'm sorry! But I can't do this. I saw that girl come to the door and I got so jealous at first and then I realized there's nothing for me to be jealous over—"

"No, no, wait just a minute there! What are you talking about? That's just my stalker. She's harmless, just can't take a hint is all. She's been stalking me for months. She don't mean nothin' ta me, I swear. Come on, baby... Lara? Please don't do this."

"I'm not doing anything, Leon. I just need time to think…" she whispered wearily as she pulled her shirt over her head and reached for her jeans.

"Think about what? Don't be stupid—what we need to do is talk it all—"

"_Stupid_!?" Lara shouted incredulously, suddenly on the defensive.

"That came out wrong," Leon whispered cautiously, green eyes wide with panic.

"Ya think?"

"I just meant...don't—don't overlook what we have, ok? The thing that stopped us last time was that you left. I'm not blaming you or nothin', I'm just saying that if you hadn'ta left, we'd might still be together, right? Who knows, maybe it would've been us getting married yesterday..." he trailed off, suddenly realizing what he'd just said and the implications of his speech.

"Leon," Lara sighed, moving back to the bed and flopping down in defeat. "When we met up again, I thought that maybe we could just pick up where we left off, but I don't think that's gonna work. Too much has happened and we don't even—"

"—And we don't even know each other, anymore. I know. I know that's what you think, but I think you're wrong. You know me, Lara. I'm the same person I've always been. I haven't changed. And I know _you_, Lara. I know how much you love eighties rock and that you hate when anyone tries to tell you what to do before you can figure it out for yourself. And I know how you're feeling right now—I know you're scared and unsure, but you don't have to be. I'm right here with you, girl. I've always been here; I'll always be here for you.

"So it won't be the same as it was," Leon continued, sitting back down beside his girl and urging her to look him in the eye. "Yeah, course we're diff'rent people, but it don't mean that we can't still care about each other, learn how to be with each other again. I never forgot about you, girl. In all the time we were apart, I never forgot how much you mean to me 'cause I love you. I've always loved you. And looking into your eyes now, I know you feel the same. But, if you're unsure, I can wait. I have all the time in the world and we can take it slow—"

"Slow, like sleeping with each other kinda slow?" Lara asked tearfully, though on the verge of laughter at the utter ridiculousness of it all.

Leon chuckled, feeling suddenly exhausted as he shook his head and pressed a warm kiss to her temple as he wrapped an arm around her. "Nah, nah. Look, that happened because we love each other. I won't take that back, a'ight? But we'll take it slow from now on. We've gotta talk some more and get all the shit out in the open, straighten everything out…maybe go on a few dates..."

"Oh, a date, huh?" Lara teased, feeling foolish for ever thinking this wonderful man could've had even a single bad bone in his entire body. She smiled softly and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. "I'm sorry," she whispered when she'd pulled away slightly. "I can't seem to help but jump to conclusions…but I'll be better from now on, I promise."

"Now, now," Leon chided, relief flooding through him his world seemed to right itself again, "don't make promises you can't keep."

Lara laughed, her eyes twinkling with barely-suppressed joy, "Well, I promise I'll try."

"That's all I can ask for," he murmured with a slight grin as he leaned forward to capture her lips again.


End file.
